Estate of Henry Joseph Darger v. The Nathan and Kiyoko Lerner Foundation et al

Track this case

Case Number:

1:22-cv-03911

Court:

Illinois Northern

Nature of Suit:

820 Copyright

Judge:

Honorable Thomas M. Durkin

Firms

  1. November 03, 2026

    Henry Darger's Landlord Saved His Art. But Who Owns It?

    The fate of the extraordinary body of artwork Henry Darger created over decades living alone in a rented Chicago room may depend in part on the meaning of a few words attributed to him shortly before he died in 1973 — a question now scheduled for a federal jury trial in March.

  2. August 17, 2023

    Reclusive Artist's Estate Beats Unclean Hands Defense

    Fifty years after custodian-turned-artist Henry Darger's death, his former landlord and his relatives are in a legal battle over who owns his creative works, with an Illinois federal judge resolving the latest skirmish Wednesday by tossing the landlord's "unclean hands" affirmative defense against the relatives' trademark infringement suit.