Artifex: Leonard Baskin and the Gehenna Press

Introduction

The early years of Gehenna Press

Baskin & Hughes

An Architect of the Page

“Of the making of books…”

Icones

Demons

Diptera

Honoring James Baldwin

The Oresteia

Capriccio

Sibyls

Demons

Throughout his career, Baskin explored the grotesque through images of monsters, gargoyles, mythological beasts, and other fiends. Although the subject usually conjures up notions of nightmarish horror, Baskin often approached the grotesque in a more carnivalesque spirit. He created images of bizarre creatures for both Gehenna Press and popular press editions, especially of children’s books. Indeed, Baskin won a Caldecott honor for his illustrations of Hosie’s Alphabet, written by his wife, Lisa, and sons Tobias and Hosea, and published by Viking Press in 1972.

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Demons
Masks