Artist: Una Troubridge Media: Bronze Date & Location: c. 1915-1963 Image Source:Queer Britain
Significance to Queer Art History
This is a statue of Radclyffe Hall by her partner of twenty-nine years, Una Troubridge. They met in 1915 and lived together from 1916 until Hall’s death in 1943.
Radcylffe Hall is most well-known for having written A Well of Loneliness, which tells the life story of its protagonist, Stephen Gordon. It has become famous as a foundational lesbian novel and it also offers insight into histories of trans* masculinity and genderfluidity (as does Hall who was known as ‘John’ among friends).
A Well of Loneliness was banned for “obscenity” in 1928 and kept from being republished until 1949 (a ban protested by Virginia Woolf, herself an important figure in queer ‘hirstory’).
Una Troubridge was a sculptor alongside being an author and translator. She also had a daughter named Andrea from her marriage to her previous partner Ernest Troubridge.
Una herself was once the subject of a work of art by an iconic figure in lesbian art history. Romaine Brooks painted a portrait of Una in 1924.
Romaine Brooks, Una, Lady Troubridge, 1924, oil on canvas. Smithsonian American Art Museum.
When it came to Una sculpting her partner, she captured Radclyffe Hall standing tall with her arms crossed. Underneath she carved a variation on the poem Nevermore by Dante Gabriel Rossetti: Look in my face; my name is Might-have-been; I am also call’d No-more, Too-late, Farewell.
It is only very recently that this statue has been shown to the public. It was unveiled earlier this year at Queer Britain in London (UK) where it now stands proudly among the rest of their beautiful collection.
Artist: We’wha (it is likely We’wha’s signature on the handle) Media: Clay and pigment Date & Location: 1884, made on A:Shiwi (Zuni) territory in what is colonially known as ‘New Mexico.’ Currently at the Smithsonian in their Anthropology Department under Accession Number: 021664. Image Source:Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History, Anthropology Department, Accession Number: 021664
❤️Please note: I use both she/her and they/them pronouns since these seem to be the English pronouns most respectfully used to describe We’wha, but I want to acknowledge the failing of language here since these pronouns stem from colonial binaries.
❤️TW: Mentions of colonial violence and arrest
Significance to Queer Art History
This pitcher was most likely made by the A:Shiwi (Zuni) artist We’wha who was born in 1849. We’wha was lhamana. In A:Shiwi culture, lhamana is a term used by people assigned-male-at-birth who present themselves in feminine ways and train primarily (though not exclusively) in cultural roles associated with women. Lhamana figures from history are often reclaimed today using the contemporary term ‘two-spirit.’ For example, the contemporary two-spirit photographer Shawn Johnston commissioned and photographed a beaded medallion by fellow artist Donna Noah with an image of We’wha. I also include a photograph of We’wha below that looks like it may have been the inspiration for this medallion.
Beaded medallion of We’wha by Donna Noah. Photographed by Shawn Johnston. Image source: CBC News.
During their lifetime, We’wha worked across media and has been recognized for being extremely skilled at both weaving and pottery. The media in which she worked also reflected her lhamana identity since weaving was seen as a more masculine practice and pottery as a more feminine practice.
They also played a significant role as a promoter of A:Shiwi arts and defended their community against colonial violence. We’wah was one of the first A:Shiwi artists to sell her works to settler-consumers and during a 1886 trip to Washington, D.C she met with President Grover Cleveland. That being said, such recognition by the colonial government did not extend to protecting her or respecting A:Shiwi sovereignty. In 1877, We’wah and other lhamana were imprisoned when Christian missionaries came to A:Shiwi territory. We’wah was also arrested for defending the A:Shiwi governor in 1892 from a colonial soldier who was trying to arrest the governor.*
This colonial violence did not stop We’wha, though. As described by contemporary two-spirit journalist Samuel White Swan-Perkins, “after getting out of prison, We’wha walked 40 miles back to the reservation and returned to their former life: leading ceremonies, making pottery, weaving with the women and hunting with the men.”
*I take the term ‘governor’ from Will Roscoe’s work, but would be interested if anyone had further information about which term is most appropriate for an A:Shiwi leader.
Relevant Sources:
Hannah McElhinney. Rainbow History Class: Your Guide Through Queer and Trans History. Unceded lands of the Wurundjeri and Boonwurrung peoples of the Kulin Nation: Hardie Grant Books, 2023.
Will Roscoe. “Sexual and Gender Diversity in Native America and the Pacific Islands” in LGBTQ America: A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History. Edited by Megan E. Springate. National Park Foundation, 2016. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/lgbtqheritage/upload/lgbtqtheme-nativeamerica.pdf.*
*I have not read this source in its entirety, but based on the section on We’wah I want to flag that some of the framing and language needs revising to avoid perpetuating colonial harms and binaries. I include it here as a place to start, though, as it does have lots to offer to those seeking to do further research.
Where can I see this artwork?: The GLBT History Museum in San Francisco, CA (USA)
Significance to Queer Art History:
Created originally on commission for Fe-Be’s, the first leather bar on Folsom Street in San Francisco, CA.
This was a re-creation of Michelangelo’s iconic “David” as a leather biker icon. The iconic figure later appeared in other plaster and even bronze statues at bars around the United States.
Michelangelo’s David for reference:
Resources & Further Reading:
Caffee, Mike. Fe-Be’s Leather David. 1966. GLBT Historical Society Museum, San Francisco, CA.
“The Leather David or Fe-Be’s Statue.” The Leather David or Fe-Be’s Statue. Accessed August 2017. http://leatherdavid.blogspot.com/.
Date and Location: 1990 in New Orleans, Louisiana (USA)
Media: Acrylic paint on carved wood
Where can I see this artwork?: Displayed in the past at the New Orleans Old Mint Museum as part of the exhibition, titled: Soul of the South: Selections from the Gitter-Yellen Collection. On display: November 20, 2015 – May 28, 2017
Herbert Singleton (1945-2007) , a self-taught artist from New Orleans, LA (USA) painted this to show the messages considered taboo (yet clear in the carved figures loving embrace) in the 1990s. Love between white men was just on the brink of hitting major popular culture and television at this time, while love between black men and men of color was scant, hence the title: ‘Love That Not Love”.
Sources & Further Reading:
“Herbert Singleton” Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery. Accessed August 07, 2017. http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artist/?id=7431.
MacCash, Doug. “Herbert Singleton, Noted Folk Artist Dies.” NOLA.com. August 02, 2007. Accessed August 07, 2017. http://blog.nola.com/dougmaccash/2007/08/herbert_singleton_noted_folk_a.html.
Greer Lankton was an American Artist based in East Village in New York City. She created and re-purposed dolls as expressions and interpretations of herself, her imagination, friends, and influential celebrities. Lankton, a transgender woman, was born in 1958 and physically transitioned and was subject of a few news articles in this time before college at the age of 21. She attended the Art Institute of Chicago and Pratt. Lankton, since left a legacy of her work having been featured in the Whittney Biennial and the Venice Biennale in 1995 before her death in 1996. Her work has since been featured and remembered in the US with the 2014 exhibition, titled: “LOVE ME”
Featured Artwork: Bust of Candy Darling
Date & Location: 1989 in New York City
Significance to Queer Art History: Candy Darling, a transgender actress who was featured in several of Andy Warhol’s films was one of Lankton’s icons that she also looked up to as a trans woman. Inside the bust is a valentine-style heart next to a human heart that Lankton has fabricated. This could allude to the idea that, as a friend of hers, Julia Morton writes: “the artist’s life was sustained as much by fantasy as reality”.
Resources & Further Reading:
Morton, Julia. “Greer Lankton, a Memoir.” Artnet Magazine. January 27, 2007. Accessed May 2017. http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/features/morton/morton1-26-07.asp.
Nastac, Simona, and Massimo Grimaldi. “Unalterable Strangeness.” Flash Art. July 27, 2016. Accessed May 2017. http://www.flashartonline.com/article/unalterable-strangeness/.
Significance to Queer Art History: This cup is a kylix vessel, used for male centered social drinking of wine. Most kylix vessels had sexual or humorous depictions of individuals on the inside (a surprise for finishing the drink, if you will) and outsides. This kylix vessel, signed by the painter, Peithinos, shows heterosexual and homosexual courtship on the exterior.
Where can I see this artwork?: Currently in the Antikenmuseen’s Collection in Berlin, Germany.
Resources & Further Reading:
“200977, Berlin, Antikensammlung, Berlin, Schloss Charlottenburg, F2279.” Provenance – The Classical Art Research Centre. Accessed August 08, 2017. http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/XDB/ASP/recordDetails.asp?id=5C03CFDF-D841-432A-8B2C-FAAD6697E456&noResults=&recordCount=&databaseID=&search=.
Saslow, James M. Pictures and Passions: A History of Homosexuality in the Visual Arts. New York, NY: Viking, 2000. 21-27.
Kritios and Nesiotes- Tyrannicide Monument (477 BCE)
Featured Artwork: Statue of Harmodius and Aristogeiton (Also known as Tyrannicide Monument)
Original artists: Kritios and Nesiotes (477 BCE) in Athens, Greece.
The only remaining pictured sculpture is a Greco-Roman copy that can be signified by the figure’s dependence upon faux wooden bases
Where can I view this artwork?: Naples National Archaeological Museum in Naples, Italy
Significance to Queer Art History:
The warrior lovers Harmodius (right) and Aristogeiton (left) rescued the ideals of democracy from a dictator and were heroes to Athens in 514 BCE. Thus, the statues of the warriors were commissioned to be displayed in the public forum. This was the 1st statue to honor mortal heroes instead of divine heroes in public.
Symbolism to note:
Aristogeiton, the older warrior (left) lunges forward and offers a protective cloak for Harmodius. This may symbolize the warrior’s mutual devotion and platonic love to one another.
Statues at this time were no longer static and archaic. Instead, they showed idealized realism and movement in posture as the figures place their feet forward and stand in contraposto (meaning, that weight is shifted to one side of the figure.)
Both figures are nude. Nudity in Greek sculpture was reserved for gods/ goddesses, warriors, and athletes.
Resources & Further Reading:
“Crizio E Nesiote.” Crizio E Nesiote — Sito Ufficiale Del Museo Archeologico Nazionale Di Napoli. Accessed August, 2017. http://cir.campania.beniculturali.it/museoarcheologiconazionale/glossario/ploneglossarydefinition.2008-06-09.8429349527
“Perseus Digital Library.” Classical Tyrannicides (Sculpture). Accessed August, 2017. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/artifact?name=Classical%2BTyrannicides&object=Sculpture.
Saslow, James M. Pictures and Passions: A History of Homosexuality in the Visual Arts. New York, NY: Viking, 2000. 17-21.
Donatello, born as Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi was a sculptor prominently featured through the Italian Renaissance in Florence, Italy. Donatello was one of the first modern artists to be known as gay in Florence, a city where homosexuality was prominent among artists and patrons alike, albeit, still frowned upon by certain sectors (namely, the church.) Donatello’s studio was a homosocial environment where in which, he chose apprentices from his standards of beauty rather than skill.
Featured Artwork: David
Date & Location: (1430-1440) in Florence, Italy
Media: Bronze
Where can I view this artwork?: Museo Nazionale del Bargello in Florence, Italy.
Donatello’s David was the first known freestanding life-size male nude sculpture since ancient Roman monuments. This was a renaissance of restored “perfection” in the classical arts. This figure idolized male form and androgyny in its form and soft curves.
The symbolism in the piece also recalls an early homoerotic allusion to the eagle of Jupiter in David’s feathered helmet-tail. Roman myth told of Jupiter’s eagle looking and lusting after the divine hero, Ganymede.
Resources & Further Reading:
Saslow, James M. Pictures and Passions: A History of Homosexuality in the Visual Arts. New York, NY: Viking, 2000. 83-84.
National Museum of Bargello – Florence. Accessed August 06, 2017. http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/museum_of_bargello.html.
Artist Unknown- Funerary Relief of Fonteia Helena and Fonteia Eleusis (21-14 BCE)
Featured Artwork: Funerary Relief of Fonteia Helena and Fonteia Eleusis
Date & Location: 21-14 BCE (Augustinian Period) Rome, Italy
Media: Marble Relief
Where can I view this artwork?: This relief currently belongs to the British Museum’s collection
Significance to Queer Art History: This sculpture was a commemoration of freedwomen Fonteia Helena and Fonteia Eleusis. The figures placement together signifies an important relationship in life. It is argued that the two women were lovers or even married due to their position as one that was also commonly given to heterosexual married couples in funerary reliefs. The sculpture was modified a few centuries later by an unknown person in attempt to modify the left figure’s appearance to appear as a male figure by cutting off her hair.
Resources & Further Reading:
“Relief.” British Museum. Accessed July 25, 2017. http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=391042001&objectId=394264&partId=1.
Brooten, Bernadette J. Love Between Women: Early Christian Responses to Female Homoeroticism. 1998. 58-59.
Date & Location: 1966 in San Francisco, CA (USA)
