Art I'm Seeing #55

There is currently a wonderful exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery dedicated to an exploration of the present of gay and lesbian portraiture in the pantheon of American portraiture from about 1870 to the present. On one level, it’s a rather modest show, given the full range of portraits created through the many movements and mediums over the past 140 years. More importantly, however; it presents a concept heretofore uncelebrated by art historians on even this modest scale or at such a prestigious venue.

Taken in seven movements, the symphony is titled HIDE/SEEK: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture.

Movement ONE: Before Difference, 1870-1918



Here we explore the male centric world of homoerotic art that was clandestinely produced in the half century or so after the first coining of the term “homosexual” back in 1862. Pandora’s Box had been opened, had anything of radical nature been unleashed? By today’s standards it is all rather pedestrian, and yet, back when it was happening, it was either scandalous or deeply draped in code and innuendo.

The image to represent this portion of the exhibition is Salutat by Thomas Eakins. Other artists and images featured in this portion include, Walt Whitman, John Singer Sargent, and F. Holland Day.

Movement TWO: Modernism



Is a section that looks at the lives of gay men and women after World War I up to The Great Depression. It was a time when lavish was not eschewed as sinful, and so excess took on many meanings including those outside of the previously held social norms. Communities developed that were based on homosexuality. Paris, Berlin, and New York were among the major hives of this period. One long lasting outcome was the birth of expatriate-ism as a way of life.

The work to represent this portion of the exhibit is Self-Portrait by Romaine Brooks. Other artists and images featured in this portion include, Marsden Hartley, George Bellows, Charles Demuth, Bernice Abbott, Marcel DuChamp, and Janet Flanner.

Movement THREE: The 1930’s and After



Ironically, it was the return of expatriates like Marsden Hartley and Grant Wood that led to the next phase of gay sensibility in American Portraiture. Combined with the new parameters established by the burgeoning influence of modernism against the constraints of conservative regional mores, an often more complexly coded body of works was created.

The work to represent this portion of the exhibit is Lincoln Kirstein by Walker Evans. Other artists and images featured in this portion include: Marsden Hartley, Georgia O’Keeffe, Grant Wood, and George Platt Lynes.

Movement FOUR: Consensus and Conflict



While the post World War II world of the United States was seen as an unprecedented time of peace and prosperity in nation rife with economic expansion, it was also a time of social and ideological strife—not unlike out present situation. Called into question was the essential patriotism of ever American and the easy response was conformity. In a period of scrutiny and “boogey men” under every tenant of free expression, homosexuals were branded under the phrase “Lavender Scare” with the result being a continuation in the struggle for equality versus mere acceptance.

The work to represent this portion of the exhibition is Frank O’Hara by Alice Neel. Other artists and images featured in this portion include: Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Beaufort Delaney, and James Baldwin.

Movement FIVE: Stonewall and After



A gay culture, nay a gay identity, had evolved in the century starting in 1870. What was missing was a gay icon, though many prospective candidates loomed in the world of the 1960’s. In the summer of 1969 the death of Judy Garland and the oppressive and pointless police raid on a gay bar in New York City would combine to ignite a never before seen aggressive action for equality in the Gay and Lesbian community. It was as if the sun rose over a world awash in tears and redefined it with a rainbow.

The work to represent this portion of the exhibition is Camouflage Self-Portrait (Red) by Andy Warhol. Other artists and images featured in this portion include: Robert Mapplethorpe, Peter Hujar, Andrew Wyeth, and Susan Sontag.

Movement SIX: AIDS



Every Rainbow dies. And the next portion of the exhibition explores the effect of the AIDS epidemic on the artists who experienced it, as well as, some who fell victim to it.

The work to represent this portion of the exhibition is Unfinished Painting by Keith Haring. Other artists and images featured in this portion include: Robert Mapplethorpe, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, and A. A. Bronson.

Movement SEVEN: New Beginnings



The final movement to this amazing symphony explores the world in which we presently life and the choices available to the portrait artists now. It is a world with amazing possibilities for self-reflection and introspection as well as revelation and messaging. One wonders if what we are not able to create isn’t the very thing that all of the other artists in this exhibition were seeking….

The work to represent this portion of the exhibition is Self-Portrait #28 by Jack Pierson. Other artists and images featured in this portion include: Cass Bird, Ellen DeGeneres, Glen Ligon, and Annie Libovitz.

It’s a wonderful so come to D.C. and experience it for yourselves!