Blackstock’s Collections: The Drawings of an
Artistic Savant

Gregory L. Blackstock
Foreword by Darold Treffert, MD
Introduction by Karen Light, Garde Rail Gallery
Princeton Architectural Press, 2006
Trade paperback, 144 pages
ISBN: 1568985797
$18.95

Gregory L. Blackstock is an autistic savant who creates visual lists. Each drawing presents a category whose boundaries reveal the genius of life’s variety. Once he decides upon a topic—be it airplanes, ants, or Airedale terriers—Greg does meticulous research at the library for details. The resulting freehand drawings offer a unique look inside the mind of an autistic man making sense of life through art.

Drawing is not Blackstock’s only talent. He is an accordionist with a repertoire of hundreds of songs and a talented mimic; he is conversant in a dozen languages and is able to recall events with uncanny precision. Although his mother was an artist, Greg has had no formal artistic training. He began making his pictorial lists at age 40, and in 2004, at 58, he had his first gallery exhibition.

Tributary Books and Seattle’s Garde Rail Gallery are collaborating to produce a book that will introduce Blackstock’s beguiling drawings to a broad audience. This will appeal to readers intrigued by the graphic arts, interested in autism, or simply captivated by Greg’s splendidly original taxonomy.

Purchase this book

Go to Garde Rail Gallery for more information on Gregory L. Blackstock and a sample of his drawings.

“Remember Blackstock's Collections, the fabulous book that everyone was gabbing about earlier this year? The obsessive sketches of Gregory Blackstock, the autistic, artistic savant, made a huge splash in the literary and art worlds and now Blackstock's drawings have made their way onto the runway. The fashionistas at Rei Kawakubo's Comme des Garcons have adapted his illustrations into shirts, where the meticulous ink doodles transform into the perfect patterns.”
—UnBeige (Media Bistro blog)

View sample pages from Blackstock’s Collections

Winner, Best in Show, 2007 PubWest Book Awards

“Blackstock’s drawings are hypnotic and all his own. This tidy little book is a fitting tribute to an endearing artist.”
—The Seattle Times

“Since retiring from pot washing, Blackstock is able to devote more time to his new calling. The art world should rejoice.”
—ReadyMade

“Princeton Architectural Press knocked one out of the park with this stunning collection of drawings by Seattle outsider artist Gregory Blackstock. . . . The drawings have an old-timey look to them, like vintage seed packet illustrations or hardware store diagrams, and they're gathered here with incredible care and attention to design and detail. This is one of the nicest books of the year.”
—Portland Mercury

“Beyond being impressed by the thoroughness and precision of Blackstock's drawings, we recognize something of ourselves in them, something that needs to see things put in order, by someone, if not by us.”
—San Francisco Chronicle

“There is a refinement and sense of order in Gregory's drawings that is comforting, and allows us to pause for a moment to perhaps reflect of the expansive beauty of the things which surround our daily lives.... Seeing it all together is truly amazing.”
—Elemental Magazine

“...a nifty little paperback filled wth exquisite black and white drawings that make up visual lists... This book is a treat.”
—Art MoCo