LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History
Officers
Nicholas D. Lowry
President, Principal Auctioneer
nlowry@swanngalleries.com
George S. Lowry
Chairman
Nicholas D. Lowry
President, Principal Auctioneer
924899
Andrew M. Ansorge
Vice President & Controller
Alexandra Mann-Nelson
Chief Marketing Officer
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Todd Weyman
Vice President & Director, Prints & Drawings
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Nigel Freeman
Vice President & Director, African American Art
Rick Stattler
Vice President & Director, Books & Manuscripts
Administration
Andrew M. Ansorge
Vice President & Controller
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Ariel Kim
Client Accounting
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Diana Gibaldi
Operations Manager
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Kelsie Jankowski
Communications Manager
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Shannon Licitra
Shipping Manager
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1
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
Group of Oscar Wilde advertising cards and theatrical photos.
Includes 3 lithograph advertising cards featuring illustrations of Wilde, each with mount remnants on verso: “Strike Me with a Sun Flower,” 114x76 mm; 4½x3 inches, blank on verso, by E.B. Duval, 1882.
Full-length portrait titled simply “Oscar Wilde” with blank area for use by local advertisers, 145x82 mm; 5¾x3¼ inches, circa 1882.
“Marie Fontaine’s Moth & Freckle Cure . . . Neilson’s Secret for the Complexion,” featuring insert portrait of Wilde, 136x75 mm; 5¼x3 inches, with ad text on verso. Buffalo, NY: Cusack & Co., undated.
Pair of cabinet card photographs of the tea party scene from “The Importance of Being Earnest,” with the two original actresses Irene Vanbrugh and Evelyn Millard. Albumen photographs, 145x102 mm; 5¾x4 inches, on original photographer’s mount of Alfred Ellis & Walery of London, circa 1895.
Separate photographs of the same actresses: a mounted silver print of Millard and a Real Photo postcard of Vanbrugh.
Modern color photograph of Wilde’s tomb in Paris.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
2
Oscar wilde (1854-1900)
Program from the original production of “The Importance of Being Earnest” at St. James’s Theatre.
4 printed pages, 250x190 mm; 10x7½ inches, on one folding sheet, with chromolithograph illustration on first page; horizontal fold, minor wear. London, circa March 1895.
This opening run of “The Importance of Being Earnest,” in addition to introducing Wilde’s final and most enduring play to the world, was also the period when he was publicly accused of sodomy and was plunged into legal difficulties.
As with all other examples of this program, it states that the play was “Produced Thursday, February 14th, 1895.” That does not mean it was printed for the 14 February opening night performance, however. As with most examples, this copy shows a cast change. The original actress in the role of Cecily Cardew was Evelyn Millard, who fell ill and was temporarily replaced by Violet Lyster as shown here. That suggests a performance from some point in March 1895; Millard later returned to the production.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
3
Napoleon sarony (1821-1896)
Portrait of Oscar Wilde.
Ferrotyped silver print, the image measuring 171.5x238.1 mm; 6¾x9⅜ inches, with the subject’s name, in pencil, in an unknown hand, and the Culver Pictures hand stamp, bar codes, and labels, on verso. 1882; printed 1930s.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
4
Mathew brady (1822-1896)
Portrait of Walt Whitman.
Silver print, the image measuring 136.5x101.6 mm; 5⅜x4 inches, the mount 203.2x139.7 mm; 8x5½ inches, with an inventory notation in the negative, Brady’s credit and the subject’s name, in pencil, on mount recto, and the Culver Pictures hand stamps, bar code, and various notations, in pencil, on mount verso. 1862; printed circa 1920.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
5
Wilhelm von gloeden (1856-1931)
Boy wearing a toga.
Albumen print, the image measuring 165.1x108 mm; 6½x4¼ inches, with Von Gloeden’s Taormina hand stamp (twice), and a numeric notation, in pencil, on verso. Circa 1900s.
Provenance: Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art Collection, New York.
Estimate
$1,400 – $1,800
6
(british writers)
Portrait of William Somerset Maugham.
Silver print, the image measuring 142.9x101.6 mm; 5⅝x4 inches, the mount 165.1x108 mm; 6½x4¼ inches, with the studio blind stamp and the subject's name, in ink, in an unknown hand, on mount recto, and the Culver Pictures hand stamp, bar codes, and labels, on mount verso. Circa 1925.
Known for his novels, short stories, and plays, Maugham was one of the most popular writers of his era and by the 1930s, he was one of the highest paid writers in the English-speaking world.
Estimate
$600 – $900
7
Gerda wegener (1886-1940)
Two drawings of befuddled men with young women.
Together, two illustrations likely for Gyraldose or Malaceïne toiletries. Pen and ink on paper. Circa 1920. The first, of a seated man in top hat taken aback by a glance of shoulder. 102x113 mm; 4x4½ inches on 8¼x12¾-inch sheet. Signed “Gerda Wegener” in ink, lower left image. The second of a portly man scratching his head at a demure lass. 115x94 mm; 4½x3½ inches, on 10¼x8¾-inch sheet. Initialed “G.W.” in lower left image.
Estimate
$500 – $750
8
Gerda wegener (1886-1940)
Girl fixing hair.
Illustration likely for Gyraldose or Malaceïne toiletries. Pen and ink on paper. 103x40 mm; 4x1½ inches, on 8¼x6-inch sheet. Initialed “G.W.” in lower right image. Circa 1920.
Estimate
$250 – $350
9
Gerda wegener (1886-1940)
Musical harem.
Illustration of a quintet of female musicians in an Indian palace, from an unknown publication. Pen and ink on paper. 90x160 mm; 3½x6¼ inches. Signed "Gerda Wegener" in lower right margin. Circa 1920.
Estimate
$400 – $600
Lots 10 – 16
10
Jean cocteau (1889-1963)
Portrait of Mary Butts.
Pencil on paper mounted on board. 263x203 mm; 10¼x8 inches. Unsigned on recto but gifted by Cocteau to Glenway Wescott, with Wescott's description and address written in ink on verso. Circa 1928.
Butts, a bisexual English writer, met Cocteau in Paris in the 1920s. The artist would create a similar line drawing portrait of her as the frontispiece for her memoir "The Crystal Cabinet," 1937. Butts led a varied and interesting life; she was a disciple of, and co-author to, the occultist Aleister Crowley and was married to the modernist poet John Rodker, with whom she had a daughter. Through Rodker, she befriended and supported the publications of the group of writers which included Ezra Pound, May Sinclair, Roger Fry, Wyndham Lewis, and Ford Madox Ford.
Provenance: Chevalier Tony Clark Collection.
Estimate
$600 – $900
11
Jean cocteau (1899-1963)
“Pas de Chance.”
Pen and ink on paper. 216x279 mm; 8½x11 inches, sheet. Signed "Jean *" and titled, in ink, lower right. Circa 1929.
Pas de Chance was a sailor that Cocteau met when he was very young. He drew many images of him and incorporated his likeness into works such as "Querelle de Brest." This image is believed to have been part of his first exhibition "L'homme endormi."
Provenance: Chevalier Tony Clark Collection.
Estimate
$800 – $1,200
12
Jean cocteau (1889-1963)
Knight in orange and blue.
Illustration for Cocteau’s play “Les Chevaliers de la Table Ronde,” circa 1937. Colored pencil, drawn on the verso of a lithographed plate from Cocteau’s book Pas de Chance, (Paris, 1930) which premiered at Théâtre de l’œuvre on October 14, 1937. 180x180 mm; 7x7 inches, on 11x8½-inch sheet, edges toned. Initialed and with Cocteau Estate inventory number penciled on verso, lower right. Tipped to window matte.
Provenance: Chevalier Tony Clark Collection.
Estimate
$600 – $900
13
Jean cocteau (1889-1963)
Le garçon au Grand Véfour, Palais-Royal (Edouard Dermit).
Pencil on paper. 260x211 mm; 10¼x8¼ inches.
Cocteau grew extremely close to Dermit in his later years, even attempting to legally adopt him, though the process was cut short by his death. He nurtured Dermit's painting career, cast him in some of his films, and named him literary executor of his estate.
Provenance: Chevalier Tony Clark Collection.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
14
Jean cocteau (1889-1963)
Jean Genet * Marcel Khill * Jean Desbordes.
Together, four portraits on three sheets. Genet: Pencil on paper. 65x209 mm; 6½x4¼ inches on 10½x8¼-inch sheet. Cocteau estate stamp in lower right corner.
Khill is ink on board, two-sided (one damaged). 270x210 mm; 10¾x8¼ inches. Portrait on rear (with camel) is abraded along top ¼.
Desbordes is pencil, ink, and wash. 330x263 mm; 13x10 inches. Cocteau estate stamp in lower right corner.
A nice group of portraits of three figures with whom Cocteau was close. He supported Genet’s writing, published his first novel, and introduced him to Jean-Paul Sartre and the Paris literary circles. The Algerian Marcel Khill was Cocteau’s secretary and his lover before Khill died in WWII. They travelled the world together in 1936, emulating Jules Verne’s novel “Around the World in 80 Days.” Desbordes was Cocteau’s lover, artistic model, and secretary in the 1920s, who would also die in WWII.
Provenance: Chevalier Tony Clark Collection.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
15
Jean cocteau (1889-1963)
Sailor.
A version of the illustration from Jean Genet's novel Querelle de Brest, (Paris: Morihien, 1947). Blue pencil on paper. 355x115 mm; 14x4½ inches, on 16x12-inch sheet. Signed "Jean" with his star monogram, lower right image.
The 29 drawings that Cocteau created for the first edition of Genet's novel were bold, graphic, and daring in their erotic rawness. It remains among his best-known works.
Provenance: private collection, California.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
16
Jean cocteau (1889-1963)
Madeleine aux joli yeux louchons.
Pen and ink on Renage wove paper. 210x268 mm; 8¼x10½ inches. Initialed in pen and ink, lower left recto. Circa 1960.
A portrait of artist Marie Madeleine Jolly (1914-1963), who hosted Cocteau in her ceramics workshop, Atelier Madeline-Jolly in Villefranche-sur-Mer in the South of France from 1957 until his death. Under her guidance, Cocteau became a prolific ceramicist, creating more than 300 works at the workshop.
Provenance: Collection of William Emboden; acquired by current owner, private collection, California.
Estimate
$1,200 – $1,800
17
Lord alfred douglas (1870-1945)
My Friendship with Oscar Wilde.
4to, publisher’s ¼ cloth over marbled boards. Number 42 of 100 signed copies from an edition of 1000; edges worn, moderate abrasions to rear cover, some loss to spine label; owner’s ink stamp on front free endpaper, signed limitation page nearly detached. New York: Coventry House, 1932.
Estimate
$100 – $200
18
Moss hart (1904-1961)
Two books, each Signed and Inscribed, on the front free endpaper: Hart and Kaufman. The Fabulous Invalid * Act One.
The first, “For / Walter– / Without whom every / line of this play was / written. / Moss Hart / Xmas 1938.” 8vo, publishers cloth; moderate wear, toned spine; faint scattered soiling to signature page, moderate scattered staining to first 25 pages. The second, “To / Dear Dottie B– / on her 19th birthday / with much love / Moss.” 8vo, publisher’s cloth; hinges cracked, some scattered discoloration to signature page (not affecting inscription); dust jacket with faint scattered staining and chipping to edges. New York: Random House, (1938); (1959); inscriptions: Np, December 1938; Np, nd.
Estimate
$150 – $250
19
william littlefield (1902 - 1969)
Two drawings.
Male Figure Study, pencil on cream laid paper. 550x343 mm; 21½x13¾ inches. Signed and dated in pencil, lower right recto and dated and inscribed with artist’s notes in pencil, verso. 1933 * Two Standing Male Nude, brush and ink on tracing paper. 605x445 mm; 24x17½ inches. Signed and dated in ink, lower left recto. 1932.
Provenance: Lawrence Steigrad, New York; private collection, New Jersey, 1998.
Estimate
$1,200 – $1,800
20
(cross dressing)
A rare album with more than 150 exceptional photographs, all featuring highly stylized and elegant men cross dressing.
Album containing over 150 silver prints, the images measuring from 114.3x76.2 to 266.7x165.1 mm; 4½x3 to 10½x6½ inches, mounted recto/verso to album pages, many pages with dates, in ink, below the images. 4to, green leatherette, edges lightly worn. 1930-41.
The album primarily features a male couple, who are dressed in exquisite outfits, including evening gowns with elaborate accessories, a wedding gown (including a marriage scene with one figure in a suit), and fanciful costumes, and are posing in front of cleverly designed backdrops (such as shimmering hanging textiles, artfully arranged corners of rooms, and a screen decorated in stars). The album features a number of sittings and combinations of figures, hinting at the both the delight and seriousness with which each tableaux was designed and executed. The resulting photographs are well composed and printed.
Both the scope and early date of this album add to its rarity--our research has not uncovered an early body of work that similarly documents a committed investigation of form and identity.
Estimate
$6,000 – $9,000
21
(féral benga)
A pair of portraits of the iconic figure François “Féral” Benga.
Toned silver prints, the images measuring 149.2x95.3 mm; 5⅞x3¾ inches, the sheets approximately 235x139.7 mm; 9¼x5½ inches, each with the photographer Waléry’s (Stanislaw Julian Ignacy Ostroróg) signature and notation Paris, in ink, on recto, and his hand stamp on verso. Circa 1930.
Benga was a well-known figure in both Paris and New York. The Senegalese dancer appeared at the Folies Bergère in Paris (sharing a stage with Josephine Baker), starring in exoticized pieces that created a sensation. In New York, he moved in the Harlem Renaissance and gay circles of Manhattan. Richmond Barthé, Carl van Vechten, and George Platt Lynes, among others, made portraits and sculptures inspired by Benga (Barthé’s an iconic, signature work), and he starred in Jean Cocteau’s “The Blood of a Poet.” By 1947 Benga had opened a bar in Paris that featured an African cabaret.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
22
George Hoyningen-Huene (1900-1968)
Portrait of George Platt Lynes.
Silver print, the image measuring 203.2x139.7 mm; 8x5½ inches, with Hoyningen-Huene’s credit and the sitter’s name, in ink, in Glenway Wescott’s hand, on verso. Circa 1938.
Ex-collection Monroe Wheeler, who was head of publications at the Museum of Modern Art from 1930-60s. Glenway Wescott, a novelist, poet, and essayist, was Wheeler’s longtime partner.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
23
Pavel tchelitchew (1898-1957)
Group of 3 Studies.
Each pen and ink on paper, circa 1938. Study for the Portrait of Ava Alice Muriel Astor, double sided. 360x190 mm; 14⅛x7½ inches. Study for the oil on canvas, sold Christie's, London, June 2, 2019, lot 99 * Male Costume Designs / Set Design, double sided. 215x280 mm; 8½x11 inches * Studies of Woman with a Mirror. 215x280 mm; 8½x11 inches.
Pavel Tchelitchew was a Russian surrealist painter as well as a set and costume designer. Tchelitchew and his partner Charles Henri Ford were part of a New York circle of queer artists and writers during the mid-20th century. He designed sets for ballets, including for works by George Balanchine and Igor Stravisnky, and his paintings are held by institutions such as the museum of Modern Art, New York and the National Gallery of Art in London, among others.
Provenance: Estate of the artist; Collection of Lincoln Kirstein, New York; inherited by (Alexander) Jensen Yow, New York; private collection, New York.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
24
Pavel tchelitchew (1898-1957)
Portrait of Mrs. Oliver Jennings (Mary Brewster Jennings).
Brush and ink and wash on paper, double-sided. 305x260 mm; 12x10¼ inches.
Provenance: Estate of the artist; Collection of Lincoln Kirstein, New York; inherited by (Alexander) Jensen Yow, New York; private collection, New York.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
25
Pavel tchelitchew (1898-1957)
Interior Landscape.
Color screenprint. 340x250 mm; 13⅜x9 inches, full margins. With the printed signature and date, lower right. 1948.
Provenance: Estate of the artist; Collection of Lincoln Kirstein, New York; inherited by (Alexander) Jensen Yow, New York; private collection, New York.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
26
Pavel tchelitchew (1898-1957)
Standing Man Facing an Animal.
Pen and ink on thin cream wove paper. 215x276 mm; 8½x10⅞ inches. With a sketch on the verso. Circa 1939.
This work may relate to two oil paintings by Tchelitchew, both titled Portrait of My Father sold Christie's, London, February 5, 2009, lot 444 and Sotheby's, New York, May 6, 2010, lot 381, respectively.
Provenance: Estate of the artist; Collection of Lincoln Kirstein, New York; inherited by (Alexander) Jensen Yow, New York; private collection, New York.
Estimate
$1,200 – $1,800
27
Pavel tchelitchew (1898-1957)
Group of Figures in a Landscape.
Pen and ink and wash on thin cream wove paper. 210x270 mm; 8¼x10⅝ inches. Circa 1940.
Provenance: Estate of the artist; Collection of Lincoln Kirstein, New York; inherited by (Alexander) Jensen Yow, New York; private collection, New York.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
Lots 28 – 41
28
Carl van vechten (1880-1964)
Pavel Tchelitchew.
Silver print, the image measuring 254x203.2 mm; 10x8 inches, with Van Vechten’s copyright hand stamp and the sitter’s name, date, and his lengthy notation, in ink, on verso. 1934; printed circa 1960.
Estimate
$600 – $900
29
Carl van vechten (1880-1964)
Nelson Barclift (This is the Army).
Silver print, the image measuring 250.8x203.2 mm; 9⅞x8 inches, with Van Vechten’s copyright hand stamp, and the title, in pencil, on verso. 1942.
Nelson Barclift was a member of the US Army’s Theatre Section during World War II. This image is from Irving Berlin’s “This is the Army,” which was written to boost morale and was shown on Broadway, cast entirely of members of the armed forces, to benefit the Army Emergency Relief Fund. Barclift was the co-choreographer and principal dancer for the musical. Though the musical was certainly problematic for its portrayal of stereotypes and inclusion of blackface, the unit that presented the performance off-Broadway was integrated, making it the first instance of racial integration in the armed forces (though it was still segregated when it came to on-stage performance). Additionally, almost every number in the musical included men in drag.
Estimate
$800 – $1,200
30
Carl van vechten (1880-1964)
Vincent Puriter.
Silver print, the image measuring 177.8x127 mm; 7x5 inches, with Van Vechten’s hand stamp with the model’s name, date, and inventory notation, in ink, on verso. 1942.
Estimate
$600 – $900
31
Carl van vechten (1880-1964)
Two nude figures, seated (Hugh Laing and Allen Meadows).
Silver print, the image measuring 203.2x228.6 mm; 8x9 inches. 1940s.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
32
Carl van vechten (1880-1964)
Christopher Isherwood, New Mexico.
Silver print, the image measuring 247.7x177.8 mm; 9¾x7 inches, with Van Vechten’s blind stamp on recto, and his copyright hand stamp, and the title, date, and inventory number, in pencil, in an unknown hand, on verso. 1950.
Christopher Isherwood was a novelist and playwright and major figure in the gay rights movement. His semi-autobiographical novel “Goodbye to Berlin” (1939) became the premise for the iconic musical “Cabaret,” and his 1976 memoir “Christopher and His Kind” told the story of his life in gay Berlin in the 1930s. The latter remains a classic in gay liberation literature.
Estimate
$800 – $1,200
33
Alexander jensen yow (1925-?)
A pair of male nude studies.
Silver prints, the images measuring 241.3x190.5 mm; 9½x7½ inches, the sheets slightly larger, with Yow’s initials, in pencil, on verso. Circa 1950.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
34
George platt lynes (1907-1955)
Alexander Jensen Yow.
Silver print, the image measuring 241.3x193.7 mm; 9½x7⅝ inches, the sheet slightly larger. Circa 1950.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
35
George platt lynes (1907-1955)
Yul Brynner.
Silver print, the image measuring 241.3x190.5 mm; 9½x7½ inches, with Lynes’ credit hand stamp, on verso. 1942.
Estimate
$2,500 – $3,500
36
George platt lynes (1907-1955)
Monroe Wheeler.
Silver print, the image measuring 228.6x190.1 mm; 9x7½ inches, with Lynes’ 640 Madison Avenue hand stamp, on verso. Circa 1940s.
Ex-collection Monroe Wheeler, who was head of publications at the Museum of Modern Art from 1930-60s.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
37
George platt lynes (1907-1955)
Alfonso Ossorio.
Silver print, the image measuring 228.6x184.1 mm; 9x7¼ inches, with the subject’s name and other numeric notations, in pencil, Lynes’ 640 Madison Avenue hand stamp, and the Collection of Jon Anderson and Collection of Paul Cadmus hand stamps, on verso. Circa 1950.
Ossorio was a Filipino American artist known for his curatorial and artistic contributions to the Abstract Expressionist movement. He was also both a peer and collector of the work of fellow artists Jean Dubuffet and Jackson Pollock.
Estimate
$3,000 – $4,500
38
George platt lynes (1907-1955)
Jared French.
Silver print, the image measuring 231.8x184.1 mm; 9⅛x7¼ inches, with Lynes’ 640 Madison Avenue hand stamp on verso. Circa 1950.
Estimate
$3,000 – $4,500
39
George platt lynes (1907-1955)
Portrait of W.H. Auden.
Silver print, the image measuring 231.8x190.5 mm; 9⅛x7½ inches, with the subject’s name and date, in ink, and Lynes’ Los Angeles hand stamp and a Collection of Jon Anderson hand stamp, on verso. 1947.
This print was exhibited at the DC Moore Gallery, New York, New York, Interwoven Lives: George Platt Lynes and his friends, September 6 - October 20, 2001.
Estimate
$3,000 – $4,500
40
George platt lynes (1907-1955)
Bill Harris.
Silver print, the image measuring 235x187.3 mm; 9¼x7⅜ inches, with Lynes’ credit and the subject’s name, in ink, in Paul Cadmus’ hand, and the Collection of Jon Anderson and Collection of Paul Cadmus hand stamps, on verso. Circa 1950.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
41
George platt lynes (1907-1955)
Ted Starkowski.
Silver print, the image measuring 228.6x184.2 mm; 9x7¼ inches, with Lynes’ 229 East 47th Street credit hand stamp, on verso. 1954.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
42
PaJaMa (Paul Cadmus, Jared French, and Margaret French)
Alexander Jensen Yow.
Silver print, the image measuring 108x161.9 mm; 4¼x6⅜ inches, with Yow’s initials, in pencil, on verso. Circa 1947.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
43
PaJaMa (Paul Cadmus, Jared French, and Margaret French)
Jose Martinez by J.F. [Jared French], Fire Island.
Silver print, the image measuring 171.4x114.3 mm; 6¾x4½ inches, with the Frenchs’ credit, the subject’s name, and location, in pencil, in Paul Cadmus’ hand, a numeric notation, and the Collection of Jon Anderson hand stamp, on verso. Circa 1947.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
44
PaJaMa (Paul Cadmus, Jared French, and Margaret French)
Sandy Campbell by JF [Jared French] or PC [Paul Cadmus].
Silver print, the image measuring 79.4x158.7 mm; 3⅛x6¼ inches, with the credits, subject’s name, and date, in pencil, in Paul Cadmus’ hand, and the Collection of Jon Anderson and Collection of Paul Cadmus hand stamps, on verso. 1943.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
45
PaJaMa (Paul Cadmus, Jared French, and Margaret French)
Paul Cadmus and Lincoln Kirstein, Fire Island.
Silver print, the image measuring 114.3x165.1 mm; 4¼x6½ inches, with the title, in pencil, in Paul Cadmus’ hand, on verso. Circa 1947.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
46
Avel de knight (1923 - 1995)
Four Drawings.
Untitled (Two Young Men), charcoal on cream wove paper, 165x244 mm; 6½x9⅞ inches. Untitled (Two Young Men), charcoal and red chalk on cream wove paper, 247x323 mm; 9¾x12¾ inches. Untitled (Two Young Men), charcoal on cream wove paper, 247x323 mm; 9¾x12¾ inches. Untitled (Two Nude Young Men), charcoal and red chalk on cream wove paper, 304x425 mm; 12x16¾ inches. circa 1940s.
Provenance: Julien Outin, Paris; private collection, Virginia. These drawings were acquired from the estate of his close friend, the French artist Julien Outin (1923-2005).
Estimate
$1,200 – $1,800
47
Avel de knight (1923 - 1995)
Three Drawings.
Untitled (Young Man in Steam Room), charcoal on cream wove paper, 82x114 mm; 3¾x4¼ inches, inscribed "dans au bain de vapeur un jeune s'excite dans son carrière. Untitled (Two Young Men Having Intercourse), charcoal on cream wove paper, 184x215 mm; 7¼x8½ inches. Untitled (Two Young Men), charcoal on cream wove paper, 190x254 mm; 7½x10 inches. circa 1940s.
Provenance: Julien Outin, Paris; private collection, Virginia. These drawings were acquired from the estate of his close friend, the French artist Julien Outin (1923-2005).
Estimate
$1,200 – $1,800
48
Avel de knight (1923 - 1995)
Three Drawings.
Untitled (Young Man on Passenger Train), charcoal and red chalk on tracing paper, 209x266 mm; 8¼x10½ inches. Untitled (Two Young Men on Passenger Train), charcoal and red chalk on tracing paper, 209x266 mm; 8¼x10½ inches. Untitled (Two Young Men Sleeping on Passenger Train), charcoal and red chalk on tracing paper, 209x266 mm; 8x10¼ inches. circa 1940s.
Provenance: Julien Outin, Paris; private collection, Virginia. These drawings were acquired from the estate of his close friend, the French artist Julien Outin (1923-2005).
Estimate
$1,200 – $1,800
49
Avel de knight (1923 - 1995)
Two Drawings.
Untitled (Two Reclining Young Men), ink and wash on tracing paper, 209x266 mm; 8x10¼ inches. Untitled (Two Reclining Young Men), ink and wash on tracing paper, 209x266 mm; 8x10¼ inches. circa 1940s.
Provenance: Julien Outin, Paris; private collection, Virginia. These drawings were acquired from the estate of his close friend, the French artist Julien Outin (1923-2005).
Estimate
$1,200 – $1,800
50
Duncan grant (1885-1978)
Two Seated Nudes.
Watercolor on paper. 225x175 mm; 9x7 inches. Signed and dated “25” in ink, upper right recto. 1925.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
51
Duncan grant (1885-1978)
Couple Embracing.
Watercolor and pencil on ivory wove paper. 200x290 mm; 7⅞x11½ inches. Signed in pencil, lower right recto.
Provenance: private collection, Massachusetts.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
52
Duncan grant (1885-1978)
Sketch of Paul Roche.
Gouache, crayon and pencil on tan PMF Italia-Ingres laid paper. 312x485 mm; 12¼x19⅛ inches. Initialed in crayon, lower right recto and inscribed “P.R.” in crayon, verso. Circa 1950.
Provenance: the artist; Collection of Paul Roche (artist’s partner); Collection of Douglas Blair Turnbaugh, writer and producer, New York; private collection, Georgia.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
53
George quaintance (1902-1957)
Female Nude.
Oil on canvas. 1940. 610x760 mm; 24x30 inches. Signed and dated in oil, lower left recto. 1940.
Quaintance was one of the early American pioneers of kitchsy, homoerotic, fantasy art. His illustrations for Physique Pictorial magazine in the early 1950s helped to popularize his work. He is most sought after for his macho, campy, muscular images of cowboys, gods, matadors and other overtly masculine, skimpily-clad, idealized physical specimens. But he was also an accomplished portrait painter and landscapist. Outside of his portraiture, there are few known images of women in his ouevre.
Provenance: estate of Ray Blanco, New Jersey; private collection, New Jersey.
Estimate
$3,000 – $5,000
54
Various authors- various artists
Lesbian Pulp Fiction
Group of thirty-three paperback examples, 1954-1974. Including twelve tiles published by Midwood: Carol Clanton’s Gay Interlude; Paul V. Russo’s One Flesh; Loren Beauchamp’s Strange Delights; Valerie Taylor’s Unlike Others; Dallas Mayo’s Silky; March Hastings’s The Unashamed; Sloan Britton’s Unnatural; Aldo Lucchesi’s Strange Breed; Sheldon Lord’s Of Shame and Joy; and three titles by Randy Salem, Honeysuckle; The Soft Sin; [and] The Unfortunate Flesh.
[Together with] twenty-one titles by a variety of publishers, including: Marlene Longman’s Lesbian Love; Francoise Mallet’s The Loving and the Daring; Kel Holland’s The Strange Young Wife; Sara Harris’s The Wayward Ones; Tereska Torres’s “By Cécile”; King Brady’s Vegas Vice Queen; Sloane Britain’s First Person 3rd Sex; and others, (condition varies, a few with serious faults). [And] a copy of Jaye Zimet’s Strange Sisters: The Art of Lesbian Pulp Fiction 1949-1969, first edition, New York: Viking Studio, 1999, publisher’s softcover, illustrated.
Estimate
$300 – $500
55
Various authors- various artists
Lesbian Pulp Fiction.
Group of twenty-eight paperback examples, 1953-1964. Including eleven titles published by Fawcett under the Gold Medal Book label: Tereska Torres’s Women’s Barracks; Vin Parker’s The Evil Friendship; and The Girl on the Best Seller List; Ann Bannon’s Odd Girl Out; Beebo Brinker; Women in the Shadows; and I Am a Woman; and Ann Aldrich’s We, Too, Must Love; We Walk Alone; Carol, in a Thousand Cities; and We Two Won’t Last.
Six titles published by Fawcett under the Crest Book labe: Valerie Taylor’s Whisper Their Love; and The Girls in 3-B; Stranger in Lesbos</i>. Six titles published by Berkley Books: Carol Hales’s Such is my Beloved; G. Sheila Donsithorpe’s Loveliest of Friends; Barry Devlin’s Forbidden Pleasures; Olivia; Paul Bodin’s The Sign of Eros; and Scott Stone’s Blaze.
[Together with] four titles published by Pyramid Books: Fletcher Flora’s Whisper of Love; Vincent G. Burns’s Female Convict; Gerald Tesch’s Never the Same Again; [and] Agnete Holk’s Strange Friends; all small format paperbacks. (28)
Estimate
$300 – $500
56
Various authors- various artists
Lesbian Pulp Fiction.
Twenty-two Paperback Examples, Beacon Books, 1952-1963. Including the following titles: Carol Emery’s Queer Affair, B135; Lilla Van Saher’s Adam and Two Eves, B152; March Hastings’ Three Women, B190; Orrie Hitt’s Girls’ Dormitory, B191; J.C. Priest’s Forbidden, B192; Randy Salem’s Chris: Life in the Limbo of Lesbianism, B223; Barry Devlin’s Make Sure I Win, B255; Artemis Smith’s The Third Sex, B268; Manning Stokes’s Triangle of Sin, B276; Michael Norday’s Warped, B280; Kay Addams’s Warped Desire, B289; Dorene Clark’s Different, B311; Artemis Smith’s Odd Girl, B230; Mark Tryon’s The Twisted Loves of Nym O’Sullivan, B343; Della Martin’s Twilight Girl, B390; Dave Carson’s Sex III, Richard Villanova’s Her Woman, B551F; Arthur Adlon’s Strange Seduction, B564F; Herb Roberts’s The Narrow Line, B610F; Kay Addams’s Queer Patterns, B663X; Colin Johns’s Rendezvous in Lesbos, B666X; [and] Anne Herbert’s Summer Camp, B687X; all small format trade pulp paperbacks in a range of condition, each 7x4¼inches. (22)
Estimate
$300 – $500
57
Steve masters (aka mike miksche 1925-1964)
“Now Hear This” * Rock Climbers.
Together, two original illustrations for unidentified publications. Mixed media and collage on paper, with graphite, wash, gouache, and printed papers. Titled work measures 415x273 mm; 16½x10¾ inches on paper, tipped to 20x14¼-inch board. Signed "Masters `62" in lower right image and titled in lower margin. Second drawing (rock climbers) measures 350x455 mm; 13¾x18 inches. Unsigned. A copy of the book The Art of Steve Masters is included with the artwork. (8vo, illustrated stapled mint green wrappers, Np, circa 1970; two institutional copies recorded)
Miksche served as an Air Force flight captain before becoming a fashion illustrator. Under the pseudonym Steve Masters, he created erotic, mostly S&M-centric art. He was commissioned by the Kinsey Institute to appear in films demonstrating sadomasochistic sex acts, mainly with the tattoo artist and writer Samuel M. Steward. After a long battle with depression, he committed suicide in 1965. The bulk of his work is held by both the Kinsey Institute and the Leather Archives and Museum.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
58
Darrel millsap (1931-2012)
“Buffy Rides Again.”
Original cover illustration for the book of the same title by Chris Davidson (San Diego: Adult Books/Greenleaf Classics, 1968). Tempera and ink on board. 458x330 mm; 18x13 inches. A copy of the book accompanies the artwork.
Millsap was a prolific California illustrator mainly of paperbacks in the 1960s and 70s. This pulp paperback features a gay drama student with the charmingly alliterative cover line "He was the frosh flash of a fag fraternity!"
Estimate
$600 – $900
59
Lesbian studies & literature first editions and signed copi
Eleven Titles, 1929-1984.
Including: Isa Glenn’s (1874-1951) Transport, New York & London: Knopf, 1929, first edition, octavo, publisher’s orange cloth, no jacket; Jeannette H. Foster’s Sex Variant Women in Literature, New York: Vantage Press, 1956, signed and inscribed first edition in original dust jacket; Louise M. King’s The Day We Were Mostly Butterflies, New York: Doubleday, 1964, in original dust jacket; Sidney Abbott & Barbara Love’s Sappho was a Right-on Woman: a Liberated View of Lesbianism, New York: Stein & Day, 1972, in original dust jacket; Del Martin & Phyllis Lyon’s Lesbian / Woman, San Francisco: Glide Publications, 1972, in the original dust jacket; Kate Tobin & Randy Wicker’s The Gay Crusaders, New York: Paperback Library, 1972, signed and inscribed by Tobin inside front cover; Betty Dodson’s Liberating Masturbation, New York: Dodson, 1975, third printing; three softcover titles by Rita Mae Brown, The Hand that Cradles the Rock, Oakland, CA: Diana Press, 1974; Songs to a Handsome Woman, Oakland: Sequoyah Graphics, 1973; and Rubyfruit Jungle, Plainfield, VT: Daughters, Inc., 1973, stated first edition; [together with] JoAnn Loulan’s Lesbian Sex, San Francisco: Spinsters Ink, 1984, softcover, signed and inscribed. (11)
Estimate
$300 – $500
60
Leonor fini (1907-1996)
Standing Nude.
Pen and ink on paper. 365x287 mm; 14½x11¼ inches. Signed in ink, lower right recto. Circa 1960.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
61
Leonor fini (1907-1996)
Two Kneeling Nudes.
Color lithograph. 470x425 mm; 18½x17 inches, full margins. Artist’s proof. Signed and inscribed “E.A.” in pencil, lower margin. Circa 1960.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
62
(american playwright)
Portrait of Tennessee Williams.
Silver print, the image measuring 238.1x190.5 mm; 9⅜x7½ inches, the sheet slightly larger, with the subject’s name, in pencil, and a Culver Pictures hand stamp and labels, on verso. 1945.
Estimate
$500 – $750
63
Tennessee williams.
Group of 5 Signed titles.
8vo, publisher’s cloth or wrappers. Comprising: Five Young American Poets. Dust jacket with one tape repair to verso; ownership signature, light foxing to contents with a few marginal notations in pencil * Baby Doll. Bottom inch of binding dampstained effecting several leaves within; small nicks to dust jacket corner folds * Grand. With original glassine. 1/300 * The Mutilated. Stapled, printed wrappers * The Two-Character Play. Complete with publisher’s card slipcase. 1/350.
Each signed by Williams. Vp, 1944; 1956; 1964; 1967; 1969.
Estimate
$500 – $750
64
William s. burroughs.
Naked Lunch.
8vo, publisher’s cloth, spine titles gilt; unclipped dust jacket priced $6.00, spine panel faded with small blemish and rubbing at head, chip to upper corner of rear panel, folds creased, light wear to top edges; contents clean.
First American edition, in the first issue jacket with no zip code on the rear panel. New York: Grove Press, (1959) [but 1962]. Maynard & Miles A2b.
Estimate
$300 – $400
65
Paul bowles.
A Little Stone * Up Above the World.
Together, 2 volumes. 8vo, publisher’s cloth, few small stains to rear board of first title; dust jackets, first title price clipped and with minor wear to head and foot of spine panel, else near fine copies.
First editions, each signed by Bowles on the title-page. London, (1950); NY, (1966).
Estimate
$300 – $400
66
Farley granger (1925-2011)
Two items, each to theater director Warren L. Enters: Autograph Letter Signed * Avedon and Capote. Observations. Signed and Inscribed.
The letter, “Farley,” declining to work with him on Tiny Alice, explaining that his employment possibilities in Hollywood do not satisfy him and that he is moving to Rome to make films, wishing he could work on the stage again, inquiring about his life and work in Buffalo, and expressing appreciation for the beauty of Italy and the Italian language. 3 pages, 4to, written on two separate sheets, “Albergo Nazional” stationery, onionskin paper; few creases. The book, on the front free endpaper: “For Warren [Enters] / May this be the first of many, / and of a long, dear friendship. / Love, / Farley.” Illustrated. Folio, printed boards, faint staining to front cover, toning to spine ends, corners bumped; lacking dust jacket; boards slipcase, moderately soiled and worn. First edition. Rome, 18 October 1969; New York: Simon & Schuster, (1959); inscription: Np, nd.
18 October 1969: “. . . My agent in Roma said if there was nothing pressing . . . in Hollywood I should stay here because I am well known, and so many more films are being made here. So here I am. The job scene in Hollywood is very bad. . . . And I really can’t face doing another stupid special guest star piece of crap on T.V. I’ve had it! I have not done one decent thing since I went out there. . . .
“I think at this time in my life nothing could be better than to get out of that rat race. I feel I can work here . . . . Also the film I made here with Vi[s]conti is an all time Italian classic, and is shown every year. So even the kids know me.
“I would love to work again on the stage, but where’s the play?
”. . . I am taking Italian lessons like mad, and loving them. It really is a very beautiful place. . . .”
Estimate
$200 – $300
67
Noël coward (1899-1973)
Typed Letter Signed, to theatrical producer Elizabeth Ireland McCann,
thanking for arranging tickets to [the 1970 Palace Theatre production of] Applause for Mr. and Mrs. Lunt [Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne?]. 1 page, 8vo, personal stationery; horizontal fold. Np, 22 April 1970.
Estimate
$100 – $200
68
Cecil beaton (1904-1980)
“The French Market - New Orleans.”
Original stage set illustration for the musical Saratoga, which premiered at the Winter Garden Theatre, 1959. Watercolor, wash, and ink. With a full-sized ink sketch of market on verso. 317x483 mm; 12½x19 inches, sheet. Signed "Beaton" in lower left image, titled "The French Market" to its left, and "New Orleans" in lower left margin (both also in Beaton's hand). Also present is a rough sketch in lower right margin and stamp of United Scenic Artists overlapping corner of sketch and into image.
Beaton won the Tony Award for Best Costume Design and was nominated for Best Scenic Design for a Musical in 1960 for this production. Saratoga, based on the novel "Saratoga Trunk" by Edna Ferber, was directed by Morton Da Costa and produced by Robert Fryer, with a musical score by Harold Arlen and lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It opened on December 7, 1959 and ran for 80 performances through February 13, 1960.
This charming and colorful design for the market with a lovely full-sized outline sketch on the verso displays Beaton's talent for capturing depth and detail of a scene.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
69
Robert bliss (1925-1981)
Spring.
Oil on canvas. 820x1275 mm; 32¼x50¼ inches. Signed and dated in oil, lower right recto. 1961.
Provenance: Selected Artists Galleries, New York, with the partial label on the stretcher bar verso; private collection, New Jersey.
Estimate
$6,000 – $9,000
71
Robert bliss (1925-1981)
Young Male Dancer, Stretching.
Oil on board. 1660x755 mm; 65½x30 inches. Signed and dated in oil, upper left recto. 1970.
Estimate
$6,000 – $9,000
72
Sewell sillman (1924 - 1992)
Vigorous Old man, (Self Portrait).
Oil on masonite, 1963. Signed, Si Sillman, dated, III 63, and inscribed as titled, on verso. 597x318 mm; 23½x12½ inches.
Provenance: The artist; Partner of the artist, Jim McNair; Private collection, Boston.
Sewell Sillman was an artist and educator best known for his abstract compositions exploring the interaction of color. He studied under Josef Albers at Black Mountain College and at Yale University. In 1958 Sillman co-founded a publishing company, there first publication being Albers' Interaction of Color. This playful self portrait was gifted by Sillman to his partner, Jim McNair.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
73
(Bruce of LA/Kensington Road)
A group of approximately 98 photographs produced by Kensington Road from Bruce of LA’s negatives.
The group is comprised of sets, housed in their original paper envelopes, organized by model. The classically inspired “beefcake” imagery, the models include Mike Kevin, Scotty Cunningham, George Ruff, Charlie Ram, and more. Silver prints, the images measuring 177.8x127 mm; 7x5 inches, and the reverse; enclosed in envelopes with the catalogue number, stamped or in ink, on the front. 1950s-60s; printed after 1974.
Following Bellas’ death in 1974, photographer Kurt Deitrick continued distributing his work under the name Kensington Road. Collectors could order prints of their favorite models by series numbers referenced in printed catalogues he also produced.
Estimate
$600 – $900
74
(david of cleveland) (active 1950-60s)
A selection of 14 dramatically lit studio portraits of bodybuilders.
Silver prints, the images measuring 190.5x241.3 mm; 7½x9½ inches, the sheets slightly larger, most with a David of Cleveland hand stamp, some with a label with the typewritten model’s name and age, and 5 with the model’s name, in ink, in an unknown hand, on verso. 1960s.
David of Cleveland was a physique photographer who specialized in photographing athletes. He sold photographic prints, slides, and stereo slides by mail.
Estimate
$600 – $800
75
Colt studios
An early 1972 photo set, with a large archive of later photo sets, publications, and ephemera.
Approximately 200 items in one box; generally minimal wear. New York and Studio City, CA, 1972 and circa 1992-2007
The Colt Studio Group was founded in New York in 1967, and built its reputation on the photography of founder Jim French (1932-2017), aka “Rip Colt.” They originated in New York, soon moved to the Los Angeles area, and have been based in San Francisco since 2003.
Offered here is a large collection of material issued by Colt. The earliest is a packet of ten black and white photographs of a single model, 177x127 mm; 7x5 inches, in a plain brown mailing envelope postmarked from New York on 2 August 1972. The mailing label has a horse’s head and the studio’s New York post office box. This predates the 1973 Miller v. California Supreme Court decision which clarified the legal status of pornographic material being sent through the mail.
Also included is a large collection of Colt material which was meticulously collected and preserved from 1992 to 2007. This includes:
16 “photo sets” produced between 1992 and 1999. Each one is a packet of photographs, 177x127 mm; 7x5 inches, devoted to a single model, in a sleeve printed with a copyright notice and catalog number. The model’s name and receipt date are often added in manuscript by the recipient. Most are black and white photographs in sets of 10.
A compact disc of photographs of model Steve Kelso, thought to be the first Colt product issued in this format.
Signed and inscribed copy of “Masc., the Color Photography of Jim French,” 1995.
35th Anniversary Album in two parts.
6 different Colt Calendars for 2005.
9 magazine-format publications, including Colt Men (#35, 36, 40), The Best Colt Men (#7), and Colt Studios Presents (#12, 15, 18, 20, and 21).
A large quantity of advertising ephemera and mailers arranged in envelopes by year of collection from 1998 to 2007, with approximately 100 items in total.
Estimate
$1,500 – $2,500
76
(target studios)
A group of approximately 112 photographs from the iconic studio, some depicting single figures, others more explicit tableaux of pairs.
A group of 14 sets of glassine envelopes, each with 8 photographs, organized by model or scene. Including models such as The Bull Dozier, Pete Bronsky, Tom Hartung, and others, as well as scenes titled The Hayloft, The Pit, and Sunstruck. Silver prints, the images measuring approximately 165.1x114.3 mm; 6½x4½ inches, and the reverse, the sheet slightly larger, one print from each set with the Target Studios copyright hand stamp on verso; enclosed in the original glassine envelopes, each with a Target Studios hand stamp and a model’s name or set name hand stamp, on the front. 1970s.
Target Studios was created by photographer Jim French and his partner Lou Thomas in the mid-1970s. The studio answered to an underground demographic that craved quality homoerotica after the U.S. Supreme Court banned depictions of male frontal nudity in 1967.
Estimate
$2,000 – $3,000
77
Jim french (1932-2017)
George Paine I, Death Valley.
Silver print, the image measuring 476.3x377.8 mm; 18¾x14⅞ inches, the sheet slightly larger, with French’s signature, title, negative date, and edition notation 5/25, in pencil, on verso. 1975; printed 1990s.
Estimate
$1,000 – $1,500
78
Jim french (1932-2017)
John Pruit, Bow and Arrow.
Silver print, the image measuring 368.1x317.5 mm; 14½x12½ inches, the sheet 508x406.4 mm; 20x16 inches, with French’s signature, in pencil, on verso. 1984.