F
or the LGBTQ+ community, art has long served as an avenue for expression and creative outlet. Throughout the year, we celebrate and support LGBTQ+ artists, collectors and community members; art as we know it would not exist without their brilliance, which continues to shape our world. Here, we invite you to explore stories, videos and discussions that celebrate the contributions and achievements of LGBTQ+ artists.
Queer Muses, Artists & Writers Through the Ages
- Emperor Hadrian (reigned 117-130 AD) and Antinous
- Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, called Sodoma | 1477-1549
- Frederick the Great | reigned 1740-1786
- Walt Whitman | 1819-1892
- Harriet Hosmer | 1830-1908
- Simeon Solomon | 1840-1905
- C.R. Ashbee | 1863-1942
- J.C. Leyendecker | 1874-1951
- Berenice Abbott | 1898-1991
- Eileen Gray | 1878-1976
- George Hoyningen-Huene | 1900-1968
- Frida Kahlo | 1907-1954
- Keith Haring | 1958 - 1990
- David Wojnarowicz | 1954 - 1992
- Felix Gonzalez-Torres | 1957 - 1996
- Catherine Opie | b. 1961
- Nicole Eisenman | b. 1965
- Mickalene Thomas | b. 1971
- Salman Toor | b. 1983
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Emperor Hadrian (reigned 117-130 AD) and AntinousWhen his lover Antinous drowned in the Nile in 130 AD, Emperor Hadrian deified the youth, establishing temples throughout the Roman Empire. Antinous became an icon of male beauty, celebrated from the Renaissance to Robert Mapplethorpe.
Read: Antinous — In Pursuit of Beauty
SELECTED RECENT WORKS SOLD
Roman head of Antinous as Dionysos-Osiris , c. AD 130-38. | Ancient Sculpture and Works of Art, July 2019
Robert Mapplethorpe, “Antinous” , 1987 | Erotic: Passion & Desire, February 2019
LEFT: After the Antique Bust of Emperor Hadrian (Sold April 2019) -
Giovanni Antonio Bazzi, called Sodoma | 1477-1549Although he worked in the Vatican for Pope Julius II, Bazzi was surrounded by “boys and beardless youths, whom he loved more than was decent”, according to Vasari. He goes on to note that the artist gloried in his nickname – Sodoma – writing songs and verses about it.
SELECTED RECENT WORKS SOLD
Study of a Standing Man | Old Master Drawings, January 2015
LEFT: Self-portrait of the artist in a fresco at Monte Oliveto -
Frederick the Great | reigned 1740-1786Frederick’s gay relationships began when he was 16, with a court page, and were common knowledge in the courts of Europe. However, when Voltaire explicitly described them for his Memoirs, the manuscript was stolen and details later suppressed.
SELECTED RECENT WORKS SOLD
Autograph letter to his sister Anna Amalie of Prussia | Music, Continental Books, and Medieval Manuscripts, July 2020
A set of twelve German silver dinner plates for Frederick the Great | Important European Silver, Vertu, And Russian Works Of Art, April 2015
LEFT: Follower of Antoine Pesne, Portrait of Frederick the Great of Prussia | Master Paintings, June 2015 -
Walt Whitman | 1819-1892The love of Whitman’s live was probably Peter Doyle, a streetcar conductor. Doyle said later of their first meeting, "We were familiar at once – I put my hand on his knee – we understood. He did not get out at the end of the trip – in fact went all the way back with me.“
Read: Literally in Love: The Story of Walt Whitman and Peter Doyle
SELECTED RECENT WORKS SOLD
Leaves of Grass , presentation copy inscribed to Peter Doyle | BENT., June 2019
LEFT: Walt Whitman and Peter Doyle, photo by M.P. Rice (Charles E. Feinberg Collection, Library of Congress) -
Harriet Hosmer | 1830-1908Raised by her father as a boy, sculptor Harriet Hosmer was persuaded to study in Rome by lesbian actress Charlotte Cushman, and later had an intense relationship with a widowed Scottish noblewoman, where Harriet referred to herself as a “wedded wife”.
SELECTED RECENT WORKS SOLD
The Sleeping Faun | 19th and 20th Century Sculpture, July 2019
LEFT: Harriet Goodhue Hosmer (1830-1908) -
Simeon Solomon | 1840-1905A Pre-Raphaelite prodigy admired by Edward Burne-Jones, Solomon’s career was derailed by his 1873 arrest in a public lavatory for indecent exposure and attempted buggery.
Read: How Simeon Solomon's Turbulent Life Informed His Art
SELECTED RECENT WORKS SOLD
Bacchus | Pre-Raphaelite, and British Impressionist Art, July 2018
Potens | Victorian, Pre-Raphaelite and British Impressionist Art, July 2019
LEFT: Simeon Solomon -
www.bridgemanart.comAWG87427 Portrait of Charles Robert Ashbee (1863-1942) 1903 (charcoal and chalk) by Strang, William (1859-1921) charcoal and coloured chalk on paper © The Art Workers' Guild Trustees Limited, London, UK Scottish, out of copyright C.R. Ashbee | 1863-1942Designer C.R. Ashbee’s marriage did not preclude gay affairs, and he was a probably member of the Order of Chaeronea, a secret gay society founded in 1897.
SELECTED RECENT WORKS SOLD
Handled Coupe | Important Design, June 2017
Covered Cup | Important Design, June 2017
LEFT: C.R. Ashbee by William Strang -
J.C. Leyendecker | 1874-1951German-American illustrator J.C. Leyendecker’s favorite model, and the prototype of his “Arrow Collar Man”, was Charles Beach, his partner for almost 50 years.
SELECTED RECENT WORKS SOLD
The Oarsman | American Art, October 2018
Carousel Ride | American Art, December 2020
Indian with Campfire Below | American Art, June 2020
LEFT: J. C. Leyendecker -
Berenice Abbott | 1898-1991Abbott both photographed and personally enjoyed the lesbian scene of 1920s Paris before settling into a decades-long relationship with art critic Elizabeth McCausland.
SELECTED RECENT WORKS SOLD
New York at Night | Photographs, April 2021
Jean Cocteau with Gun | Photographs from the Ginny Williams Collection, December 2020
Dorothy Whitney | July 2020
LEFT: Berenice Abbott by Hank O'Neal -
Eileen Gray | 1878-1976Architect and furniture designer Eileen Gray moved in the Paris circles of Natalie Clifford Barney, Romaine Brooks and Gertrude Stein; her lover in the early 1920s, singer Marisa Damia, encouraged her to bob her hair and wear tailored suits.
SELECTED RECENT WORKS SOLD
Unique six-panel screen | A Celebration of Art Deco, December 2020
Table from Gray’s own residence | Important Design, June 2020
LEFT: Eileen Gray -
George Hoyningen-Huene | 1900-1968Hoyningen-Huene was the presiding fashion photographer for French Vogue from 1926 to 1935. In 1931 he met Horst P. Horst, an accomplished photographer in his own right who became who became Hoyningen-Huene's model and lover.
SELECTED RECENT WORKS SOLD
The Divers | Photographs, May 2017
Horst Torso | Photographs, April 2010
LEFT: George Hoyningen-Huene -
Frida Kahlo | 1907-1954Kahlo had a modern view towards sexuality and gender. The artist was openly bisexual throughout her life and embraced her fluid identity in her art.
SELECTED RECENT WORKS
Ritrato de Irene Bohus | Contemporary Day Auction, 2019
Congreso de los Pueblos de la Paz | Impressionist and Modern Art Evening sale, June 2020
LEFT: Frida Kahlo, by Guillermo Kahlo -
fred kris / Alamy Stock Photo/Alamy Stock PhotoAYAX5G keith haring in club Keith Haring | 1958 - 1990A strong believer that art is for everybody, Keith Haring embodied this ethos in his practice as an artist and activist. His bold line and signature graffiti-inspired style resonated with each viewer on a personal level.
SELECTED RECENT WORKS SOLD- Untitled , 1986 | May 2021 Contemporary Art Evening Sale, New York
- Keith Haring’s Greatest Hits: The Pop Shop Drawings | Online Auction, March 2021
- Untitled [Twenty-Three Works] , 1982 | November 2020 Contemporary Art Day Sale, New York
- Untitled , 1984 | Rembrandt to Richter, London, July 2020
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David Wojnarowicz | 1954 - 1992David Wojnarowicz’s wide-ranging oeuvre spanned photography, painting, music, film, sculpture, and writing. His poignant and powerful art in response to the early years of the AIDS epidemic was intimately tied to his understanding of the outsider unheard amid the “ONE-TRIBE NATION.”
SELECTED RECENT WORKS SOLD- Where I’ll Go After I’m Gone , 1988-89 | May 2020 Contemporary Art Day Sale, New York
- Untitled (Sheep’s Skull) , 1984 | May 2020 Contemporary Art Day Sale, New York
- Desert Journal , 1986 | November 2019 Contemporary Art Day Sale, New York
- Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water , 1986 | November 2018 Contemporary Art Day Sale, New York
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Felix Gonzalez-Torres Felix Gonzalez-Torres | 1957 - 1996Felix Gonzalez-Torres’s work meditates on absence, a reflection of the loss of loved ones, including his partner, to AIDS. Gonzalez-Torres’s minimalist sculptures and public installations urged the public to consider the hidden or oppressed narratives of the queer community.
SELECTED RECENT WORKS SOLD- “UNTITLED” , 1992 | November 2017 Contemporary Art Evening Sale, New York
- “UNTITLED” , 1991 | May 2017 Contemporary Art Day Sale, New York
- "UNTITLED" (MARCH 5TH) #2 , 1991 | November 2013 Contemporary Art Evening Sale, New York
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Catherine Opie/Courtesy of Catherine Opie StudioCatherine Opie has generally avoided commercial photography, so she isn't as famous as Richard Avedon or Annie Leibovitz. But at least one curator is convinced her photos will be era-defining. Catherine Opie | b. 1961Photographer Catherine Opie is most intimately known for her portraits of her friends in the lesbian and gay community in Los Angeles. Often undermining societal expectations for queer women through her powerful portraits, Opie’s complex photographic ouevre explores issues of culture and identity.
SELECTED RECENT WORKS SOLD- Untitled #7 (Surfers) , 2003 | April 2021 Photographs Sale, New York
- Divinity Fudge , 1997 | September 2019 Contemporary Photographs, New York
- Richard , 1994 | March 2016 Contemporary Curated, New York
- Melissa and Duke, Durham, North Carolina , 1998 | March 2010 Contemporary Art, New York
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Nicole Eisenman | b. 1965Charged by irreverent content and sardonic tone, Nicole Eisenman gained recognition in the early 1990s. Her characteristically dark humor is on full display in her oeuvre of oil paintings, drawings, and sculptures.
SELECTED RECENT WORKS SOLD- It’s Raining Men , 1999 | March 2020 Contemporary Curated, New York
- European Painting , 2004 | February 2020 Contemporary Art Evening Sale, London
- Dust Buster , 2002 | November 2019 Contemporary Curated, London
- Close to the Edge , 2015 | October 2019 Contemporary Art Evening Sale, London
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Chad Kirkland/Contour
PARK CITY, UNITED STATES - JANUARY 21: Visual artist Mickalene Thomas is photographed for Deadline on January 21, 2019 in Park City, United States. (Photo by Chad Kirkland/Contour by Getty Images) Mickalene Thomas | b. 1971Mickalene Thomas presents her intimate knowledge and understanding of art history through her luxurious compositions, making reference to master painters such as Édouard Manet, Henri Matisse, and Gustave Courbet. Through her own paintings, Thomas redefines the narrative and places the black female model unapologetically at the center; she references art history while subverting and redefining it.
SELECTED RECENT WORKS SOLD- I Just Wanna Be With You , 2007 | May 2021 Contemporary Art Day Sale, New York
- Lores 4 , 2007 | February 2020 Contemporary Art Day Sale, London
- Naomi Looking Forward , 2013 | October 2019 Contemporary Art Day Auction, London
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Salman Toor | b. 1983Salman Toor’s work sees the artist draw on his imagination to create works that, whilst intensely familiar, reflect his highly personal experience as a queer Brown man living between New York City and South Asia.
SELECTED RECENT WORKS SOLD- The Arrival , 2019 | May 2021 Contemporary Art Evening Sale, New York
- Untitled , 2016 | April 2021 Contemporary Art Day Sale, Hong Kong
- Three Boys , 2019 | April 2021 Contemporary Art Evening Sale, Hong Kong
