Gacy has long captured the attention of true crime aficionados since his arrest in December 1978. The Chicago contractor spent several years luring young men and teenage boys to his home on Summerdale Avenue, where he would torture, sexually assault, and murder them. When police searched his home, they discovered that the majority of his victims had been buried in the crawlspace underneath his floorboards, coated with thin layers of soil and quicklime. Gacy was responsible for 33 confirmed murders and was executed in 1994 (per Newsweek).
During his stay in prison, Gacy passed a lot of his time using a paintbrush. After someone sent him a beginner paint set in 1982, he started creating works of art that eventually sold at auction for tens of thousands of dollars (via Crime Museum). The work he developed over the next 12 years consisted of many self-portraits of him dressed in his Pogo the Clown getup (Gacy dressed as this character to entertain at children’s events before he was imprisoned), but also contained paintings of other notorious criminals like Charles Manson.
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Gacy’s paintings are a big draw for visitors at the Graveface Museum, as this spot hosts the largest collection of Gacy’s paintings assembled (per Graveface Museum). On the top floor, visitors can take in every brushstroke the killer made on an assortment of canvasses. Ryan Graveface, the museum owner and namesake, acquired his first Gacy painting when he was 15, the result of a school project where he penned letters to several incarcerated serial killers (via The New York Post).
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
