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Henry Darger’s estate dispute heads to federal jury trial in 2027
A federal jury is scheduled to consider whether Henry Darger’s artwork, writings and related rights belong to distant relatives or to the estate of his former landlords. The case puts the ownership of a trove now valued at millions of dollars before a trial expected to last about a week.
A federal jury is scheduled to begin hearing a dispute over the work of Chicago artist Henry Darger on March 8, 2027, more than five decades after his death. The trial is expected to last about a week.
U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin set the date this week, saying a case filed in 2022 deserved to proceed to trial. The lawsuit pits people who say they are Darger’s distant relatives against the estate of his former landlords, Nathan and Kiyoko Lerner, over ownership of his artwork, writings, trademarks and copyrights.
Darger died in 1973 at age 81, leaving no will. He had lived in a small apartment at 851 W. Webster Ave. in Lincoln Park. After he moved to a Catholic nursing home in declining health, the Lerners took possession of his work, which included hundreds of watercolors and collage paintings, as well as a typed fantasy novel of about 15,000 pages, “In the Realms of the Unreal.”
Kiyoko Lerner, who now lives in Japan, has testified that Darger told her husband he no longer wanted the work and that Nathan Lerner could have it. The potential heirs dispute the Lerners’ claim to the estate. In 2022, relative Kristin Klein said family members deserved a share, arguing that being absent from Darger’s life did not mean unrelated people should receive his entire estate.
The question of Darger’s mental capacity when he left the apartment could be central at trial. Lawyers for the potential heirs have pointed to his death certificate, which lists senility as a cause of death, and are considering calling a mental-health expert. Durkin has ruled that the diagnosis is relevant but does not, by itself, establish that Darger lacked the capacity to give away his work.
The dispute has significant stakes for museums and collectors. Darger’s self-taught art is now estimated to be worth millions, and works are held by the Art Institute of Chicago, the Intuit Art Museum and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Kiyoko Lerner has sold, donated, exhibited, reproduced and licensed works over the years, including selling at least 22 pieces to New York’s American Folk Art Museum for a total of $1 million in 2000.
Supporters of the Lerners have argued that Nathan and Kiyoko helped preserve Darger’s work and bring it to public attention. The jury will be asked to weigh that history against the relatives’ claims and the evidence about Darger’s wishes and capacity.