Printing the Gothic: Horace Walpole and the Reimagining of English Aesthetic Tradition

The William Andrews Clark Memorial Library is pleased to present the exhibition Printing the Gothic: Horace Walpole and the Reimagining of English Aesthetic Tradition, curated by Edward Hyunsoo Yang, Loren and Frances Rothschild Endowed Graduate Research Fellow.

The Gothic has long carried a reputation of being little more than cheap entertainment: a genre thought to possess limited literary or cultural value. This exhibit challenges that view by tracing the Gothic’s connection to a collective cultural effort to establish, and promote, an identifiably English art. At the center of this exhibit is Horace Walpole—antiquarian, collector, and author of the first Gothic novel—whose Castle of Otranto makes striking use of the preface to address readers directly, and fundamentally reimagines how readers might engage with material texts. This gesture, which becomes a hallmark of later Gothic works, exemplifies how paratextual spaces invited interaction between writer and reader. By examining Gothic fiction alongside eighteenth-century art historiography, this exhibit highlights a shared practice of using the material book—its prefaces, framing texts, and editorial choices—not only to inspire readers, but also to contribute to a national cultural project.

• 3:30 PM – Doors Open
• 4:00 PM – Welcome remarks by Head Librarian Derek Christian Quezada Meneses
• 4:05 PM – Introduction and overview presentation by Curator Edward Hyunsoo Yang
• 4:30-6:00 PM – Reception and exhibition viewing

The exhibition will be on view through April 13, 2026 and will be open by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, please contact clarktours@humnet.ucla.edu.

To register for Friday, February 13 opening, please visit the website.

The event is free to attend and will be held in-person at the Clark Library.

Seating is limited at the Clark Library; walk-in registrants are welcome as space permits.