The dashgly charmg -founr of the Llie-Lohman Mm v si his SoHo apartment—an unbelievable monument to gay creativy and art. " data-reactroot="
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"GAY"/ FE ART PRTS ▼
The enigmatic actor, art llector, gay activist, globetrotter, and doyenne of the SoHo scene has, along wh his late partner J. Together, the pair found the Llie-Lohman Mm of Gay and Lbian Art—the first stutn of s kd—which is down the block, on Wooster, unassumg Llie happened to poke his head out to the hallway to terme the e of the ck; before he uld shut the door, a group om the art magaze I worked for had charged their way through. This somewhat jad crew of crics was ankly awed to fd every available surface the dky, crimson Prce Street loft absolutely vered—let me repeat: vered—wh explicly homoerotic art all styl and media, cludg var se-specific murals.
At the start of his and Lohman’s llectg days, more than 60 years ago, “gay imagery was unfortunately the hands of pornographers exclively, ” Llie lamented.
Photo by Max Burkhalter for wi-rangg llectn gently illtrat the changg landspe of public gay life and the civil rights advanc crementally gaed sce he began discreetly buyg homoerotic art the 1950s. It is only the last three s that homosexualy has gaed legal protectns the Uned Stat. When the llectn began to take shape, sodomy was outlawed ( still is several stat), and gays uld be refed service at bars and other there were numerable challeng to gog about buildg such a libido, Uranian llectn.
THE GAY FIGURE ARTISTS ARE REIMAGG THE MALE GAZE
Much like homosexualy self, gay art was hidn away—tucked the back rooms of galleri, wh entry granted by s and vert nods passed between figur who had to read the other as part of their circle.
Generally, homoerotic works “were ma for iends, ” Llie said, and they’ve only more recently been g to the market. He ced the Amerin artist Pl Cadm, “a very charmg man” he knew through gay circl Cann.
Born the remote town of Deadwood, South Dakota, 1933, Llie had saved enough money by the time he was 17 to take a b to Los Angel, where he enuntered his first gay muny. After his two-year stt was up, Llie enrolled the Sorbonne Paris before travelg throughout Europe, livg Venice and Amsterdam, known as the gay pal of post-war Europe.