Auction Highlights: LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History — August 22, 2024

Swann Galleries is excited to present the sixth iteration of the LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History auction. The sale will take place on Thursday, August 22, and will feature an exciting selection of fine art, illustration, photography, manuscripts and archives from the expansive range of the LGBTQ+ community.

*A Roman Marble Bust, Head of A Youth*, carved marble on a wooden base, Julio-Claudian dynasty 27 BC – 68 AD. Once in the collection of Gore Vidal. Estimate $80,000 to $120,000.

Leading the auction is a Roman bust of a young boy with extensive provenance from owners of gay creative and literary history. The ephebe was owned by German photographer Wilhelm von Gloden, who acquired it on one of his European tours between 1894 and 1914. After von Gloden passed away in 1931, the bust went into the collection of his muse and heir, Pancrazio Buciunì. In 1948, an Italian dealer brokered the bust sale from Buciunì to American playwright and screenwriter Tennessee Williams, who then gifted the sculpture to Gore Vidal as a housewarming gift in July 1950 when he acquired Edgewater, a sprawling estate in Dutchess County, New York. Vidal and his partner Howard Austen made Edgewater their home for nineteen years. The bust, which they affectionately dubbed Alessio, lived with them for another thirty-four years until Vidal’s passing.

Tom of Finland, *Untitled (Two Bikers)*, graphite on paper, 1963. Estimate $25,000 to $35,000.

This 1963 drawing from Tom of Finland depicts a Biker scene, with symbols leading the viewer to a deeper meaning.

Mark Beard, *Theatre of the Ridiculous*, oil on cotton canvas in artist’s original hand-painted frame, circa 1980s. Estimate $8,000 to $12,000.

From the estate of American critic, translator, and lyricist Michael E. Feingold, Theatre of the Ridiculous is a work he commissioned Mark Beard to execute to immortalize the acting troupe. Featured on the canvas are gay theatre figures Ethyl Eichelberger (1945-1990), Everett Quinton (1952-1971), Lola Pashalinski, and Charles Ludlam (1943-1987).

Richard Bernstein, *Woman With Hat*, photoshrink, ink, acrylic, mixed media, computer-generated image of Angelica Huston as Georgia O’Keefe on cotton canvas, 1993. Estimate $8,000 to $12,000.

Woman with Hat is a digital photocollaged painting of Angelica Huston as Georgia O’Keefe to resemble queer literary figure Quentin Crisp a dear friend of Richard Bernstein.

Dinh Q. Le, *Self Portrait #5 (Portraying a White God Series)*, cut and woven chromogenic prints, mounted to cotton canvas, 1989. Estimate $8,000 to $12,000.

Rooted in oriental and occidental histories, Dinh Q. Lê’s Self-Portrait #5, 1989, is a composite self-portrait of the artist in biblical scenes. The crucifixion scene places Lê at the intersection of the historiography of Christianity.