Leslie Lohman Gay Art Foundation
Encyclopedia
The Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation (LLGAF) is a nonprofit
foundation for the collection and preservation of visual arts
by LGBT
artists or art about LGBT themes, issues, and people. LLGAF is located in the SoHo
district of New York City
. It has a gallery for temporary exhibitions and includes a sizable permanent collection of art numbering over 3,000 items, including, painting, drawing, photography, prints and sculpture. It has been recognized as one of the oldest arts groups engaged in the collection and preservation of gay art.
The permanent collection contains the works of a number of well-known artists such as Andy Warhol
, Delmas Howe
, Jean Cocteau
, Deni Ponty, Robert Mapplethorpe
, George Platt Lynes
, Horst
and Arthur Tress
.
Along with the Kinsey Institute
, the One National Gay & Lesbian Archives
, Lesbians in the Visual Arts, and the Archives of Gay and Lesbian Artists at Oberlin College
, the Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation is considered one of the most important archives of LGBT visual arts in the United States.
and frequently denied access to mainstream venues. The foundation's gallery mounts regularly scheduled exhibitions of art in all media by gay and lesbian artists with an emphasis on subject matter that speaks directly to gay and lesbian sensibilities, including erotic, political, romantic, and social imagery. The organization also provides support for emerging and under-represented artists. Other programs include artists' and curator
s' talks, panel discussions, a quarterly journal, an archive of artist data, and a permanent collection of art. The LLGAF also publishes The Archive made available to its membership that includes information on the Leslie Lohman collection, new acquisitions, events, samples of gay and sometimes erotic art and articles on artists and exhibition. The Archive is the predecessor to another publication, The Art of Man
from Firehouse Studio publications.
pandemic
.
In 1989, the two men applied for nonprofit status as a precursor to establishing a foundation to preserve their collection of gay art and continue exhibition efforts. The Internal Revenue Service
objected to the word "gay" in the title of the foundation, and held up the nonprofit application for nearly a decade. The foundation was finally granted nonprofit status in 1990.
The Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation first location was in a basement at 127B Prince Street in New York City.
In 2006, LLGAF moved into a much larger ground floor gallery at 26 Wooster Street in SoHo. The Foundation retains its original home for storage and archive purposes.
LLGAF is financed by contributions from private donors as well as a membership program. The foundation expands its collection primarily by donations from artists and collectors.
drew critical praise.
The foundation was also the first to exhibit the gay erotica of renowned commercial illustrator Bob Ziering
. Although Ziering had provided illustrations for Simon and Schuster, The Walt Disney Company
, and the New York City Opera
(his 40-by-40-foot banner for the Opera's 1986 production of Don Quichotte
at Lincoln Center caused a sensation), his erotic work remained unknown until LLGAF hosted the first public exhibition of his paintings and drawings in 2004.
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
foundation for the collection and preservation of visual arts
Visual arts
The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
by LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
artists or art about LGBT themes, issues, and people. LLGAF is located in the SoHo
SoHo
SoHo is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, notable for being the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, and also, more recently, for the wide variety of stores and shops ranging from trendy boutiques to outlets of upscale national and international chain stores...
district of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. It has a gallery for temporary exhibitions and includes a sizable permanent collection of art numbering over 3,000 items, including, painting, drawing, photography, prints and sculpture. It has been recognized as one of the oldest arts groups engaged in the collection and preservation of gay art.
The permanent collection contains the works of a number of well-known artists such as Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
, Delmas Howe
Delmas Howe
Delmas Howe is an American Painter and muralist whose figurative work depicts mythological and archetypal - sometimes homoerotic - themes in a neoclassical, realist style....
, Jean Cocteau
Jean Cocteau
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, playwright, artist and filmmaker. His circle of associates, friends and lovers included Kenneth Anger, Pablo Picasso, Jean Hugo, Jean Marais, Henri Bernstein, Marlene Dietrich, Coco Chanel, Erik Satie, María...
, Deni Ponty, Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe
Robert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer, known for his large-scale, highly stylized black and white portraits, photos of flowers and nude men...
, George Platt Lynes
George Platt Lynes
George Platt Lynes was an American fashion and commercial photographer.Born in East Orange, New Jersey to Adelaide and Joseph Russell Lynes he spent his childhood in New Jersey but attended the Berkshire School in Massachusetts. He was sent to Paris in 1925 with the idea of better preparing him...
, Horst
Horst P. Horst
Horst Paul Albert Bohrmann who chose to be known as Horst P. Horst was a German-American fashion photographer.-Early life:...
and Arthur Tress
Arthur Tress
Arthur Tress is a notable American photographer born on November 24, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York. He is well known for his staged surrealism and exposition of the human body.- Education :* Abraham Lincoln High School, Coney Island, New York* B.F.A...
.
Along with the Kinsey Institute
Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction
The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction is a nonprofit research institute at Indiana University. It was established in Bloomington, Indiana in 1947...
, the One National Gay & Lesbian Archives
One National Gay & Lesbian Archives
ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives is the oldest Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender organization in the United States and the largest repository of LGBT materials in the world. Since 2010 ONE Archives has been a part of the University of Southern California Libraries. ONE Archives...
, Lesbians in the Visual Arts, and the Archives of Gay and Lesbian Artists at Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
, the Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation is considered one of the most important archives of LGBT visual arts in the United States.
Mission
LLGAF was created to provide an outlet for art that is unambiguously gayGay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
and frequently denied access to mainstream venues. The foundation's gallery mounts regularly scheduled exhibitions of art in all media by gay and lesbian artists with an emphasis on subject matter that speaks directly to gay and lesbian sensibilities, including erotic, political, romantic, and social imagery. The organization also provides support for emerging and under-represented artists. Other programs include artists' and curator
Curator
A curator is a manager or overseer. Traditionally, a curator or keeper of a cultural heritage institution is a content specialist responsible for an institution's collections and involved with the interpretation of heritage material...
s' talks, panel discussions, a quarterly journal, an archive of artist data, and a permanent collection of art. The LLGAF also publishes The Archive made available to its membership that includes information on the Leslie Lohman collection, new acquisitions, events, samples of gay and sometimes erotic art and articles on artists and exhibition. The Archive is the predecessor to another publication, The Art of Man
The Art of Man
The Art of Man is a quarterly journal by Firehouse Studio Publications that focuses on the fine art of the male figure, founded in the summer of 2010 by Firehouse Studio Publications, authors of Powerfully Beautiful, an anothology of contemporary artists who focus on the male figure.The Art of Man...
from Firehouse Studio publications.
Background
The Leslie Lohman Gay Art Foundation was founded by J. Frederic "Fritz" Lohman, ASID and Charles W. Leslie. The two men had been collecting art for several years, and mounted their first exhibition of gay art in their loft on Prince Street in New York City in 1969. They opened a commercial art gallery shortly thereafter, but this venue closed in the early 1980s at the advent of the AIDSAIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
pandemic
Pandemic
A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...
.
In 1989, the two men applied for nonprofit status as a precursor to establishing a foundation to preserve their collection of gay art and continue exhibition efforts. The Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
objected to the word "gay" in the title of the foundation, and held up the nonprofit application for nearly a decade. The foundation was finally granted nonprofit status in 1990.
The Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation first location was in a basement at 127B Prince Street in New York City.
In 2006, LLGAF moved into a much larger ground floor gallery at 26 Wooster Street in SoHo. The Foundation retains its original home for storage and archive purposes.
Governance and finances
The Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation is by a board of directors. An advisory committee provides expertise and advice. The foundation employs a small full-time staff, although it also relies on the assistance of volunteers to implement its programs.LLGAF is financed by contributions from private donors as well as a membership program. The foundation expands its collection primarily by donations from artists and collectors.
Notable exhibitions
The foundation hosts five exhibitions of new works each year, although work from the permanent collection is also frequently exhibited. The foundation's 2004 exhibition of the works of painter Patrick AngusPatrick Angus
Patrick Angus , a late 20th century American painter, among many other works, created a number of oil or acrylic paintings of the interior of the Gaiety Theater and some of its dancers and customers in the 1980s....
drew critical praise.
The foundation was also the first to exhibit the gay erotica of renowned commercial illustrator Bob Ziering
Bob Ziering
Bob Ziering is an American illustrator from New York who studied at The High School of Music & Art, and the New York University. His influences include J.M.W...
. Although Ziering had provided illustrations for Simon and Schuster, The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
, and the New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
(his 40-by-40-foot banner for the Opera's 1986 production of Don Quichotte
Don Quichotte
Don Quichotte is an opera in five acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Henri Caïn.Massenet's comédie-héroïque, like so many other dramatized versions of the story of Don Quixote, relates only indirectly to the great novel by Miguel de Cervantes...
at Lincoln Center caused a sensation), his erotic work remained unknown until LLGAF hosted the first public exhibition of his paintings and drawings in 2004.