Early Gay Magazine Artwork Is Celebrated In “Stroke” Exhibition

From: Queerty

Breyette , Winter

 Things got steamy at the Leslie-Lohman Museum this spring when Stroke: From the Mattress to the Museum Wall opened. The exhibition is a historical retrospective of sexy and erotic illustrations by artists who made work for gay male magazines from the 1950s to the 1990s.  New York artist Robert W. Richards curated over 80 original illustrations by 25 artists, including many forgotten bodies of work and some that have been tucked under mattresses for years.

Beno?it Pre?vot, John Roses 

 Work by Tom of Finland, Bob Mizer and others were featured in early gay magazines like Grecian Guild Pictorial  and Tomorrow’s Man at a time when the U.S. government was cracking down on the “sexual perversion” of gay life.  By the late ’60s and after the “sexual revolution” magazines like Blueboy, Torso, Honcho, Mandate and In Touch came out. Each issue featured illustrations by artists like Antonio Lopez, Mel Odom, George Stravrinos and Richard Rosenfeld. They’re all included in the current Stroke exhibition, which is on display through May 25.

Kent, The Mechanic

Kevin King (Beau), Pinned

Breyette , Kiss Me Senator

David Martin, Boxer

Antonio Lopez, Mike Haire 1 

George Stravinos, Man Exercising

Georege Quaintance, Glen Bishop

Images courtesy of the Leslie-Lohman Museum