“They’re creepy and they’re kooky, mysterious and spooky,” so describes the characters to spring forth from the mind of Charles Addams, a dominant force in twentieth century visual humor. The approximately eighty works of ink, gouache, and watercolor on paper spanning Addams’ career from the late 1930’s through his death in 1988 come from the Tee & Charles Addams foundation. His work is filled with subtle suggestions, double entendre, visual puns, along with commentary on contemporary society, historic events, and artistic triumphs. Best known today for The Addams Family television series, movies and animated features, Addams was a significant contributor to The New Yorker for over five decades as well as one of the great humorists of the 20th century.
Charles Addams (American, 1912-1988) Boiling Oil, 1946. 26 x 22 inches. © Charles Addams, with permission Tee & Charles Addams Foundation.
