Nightmares of Halloween Past

Vintage Photographs from the Collection of Gary Baseman

An opportunity to share a sold-out, limited-run photographic tribute to one of Americas favorite holidays with a wider audience.

As a child, Halloween was acclaimed artist Gary Basemans favorite holidayan extension of his love of otherworldly monsters and characters on TV and film. In the 1990s, he started his collection of more than 2,000 dark, playful, surreal vintage photographs of people in masks and costumes. Gathered primarily at flea markets, these images, taken by unknown photographers, represent intimate tributes to Halloween and American legacy. The photographs have long inspired Baseman to create not just paintings, but scores of costumes and masks of his own that he has used for photography, video, and performance art.

The photos compiled here speak a thousand words and inspire a thousand more questions. What might rst appear scary will