Leslie Lohman Gay Art Foundation

The Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation (LLGAF) is a nonprofit foundation for the collection and preservation of visual arts by LGBT artists or art about LGBT themes, issues, and people. [Ellis, "Arts and Education," in "The Harvey Milk Institute Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Internet Research," 2001.] LLGAF is located in the SoHo district of New York City. It has a gallery for temporary exhibitions and includes a sizable permanent collection of art numbering over 3,000 items, including, painting, drawing, photography, prints and sculpture. It has been recognized as one of the oldest arts groups engaged in the collection and preservation of gay art. [Cotter, "Gay Pride (and Anguish) Around the Galleries," "New York Times," June 24, 1994.]

The permanent collection contains the works of a number of well-known artists such as Andy Warhol, Delmas Howe, Jean Cocteau, Deni Ponty, Robert Mapplethorpe, George Platt Lynes, Horst and Arthur Tress.Sanchez, "Leslie-Lohman Gallery: The Ultimate Gay Portfolio," "Genre Magazine," September 2000.]

Along with the Kinsey Institute, the One National Gay & Lesbian Archives, Lesbians in the Visual Arts, and the Archives of Gay and Lesbian Artists at Oberlin College, the Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation is considered one of the most important archives of LGBT visual arts in the United States. [Lockard, "Pink Papers and Lavender Files: Preserving Gay and Lesbian Art History in Archival Collections," Art Libraries Society of North America, 26th Annual Conference, March 10, 1998.]

Mission

LLGAF was created to provide an outlet for art that is unambiguously gay and frequently denied access to mainstream venues. The foundation's gallery mounts regularly scheduled exhibitions of art in all media by gay and lesbian artists with an emphasis on subject matter that speaks directly to gay and lesbian sensibilities, including erotic, political, romantic, and social imagery. The organization also provides support for emerging and under-represented artists. Other programs include artists' and curators' talks, panel discussions, a quarterly journal, an archive of artist data, and a permanent collection of art.

Background

The Leslie Lohman Gay Art Foundation was founded by J. Frederic "Fritz" Lohman, ASID and Charles W. Leslie.Robinson, "Future Events From Art to Zippers," "New York Times," April 25, 1982.] The two men had been collecting art for several years, and mounted their first exhibition of gay art in their loft on Prince Street in New York City in 1969. They opened a commercial art gallery shortly thereafter, but this venue closed in the early 1980s at the advent of the AIDS pandemic.De Stefano, "Artistic Outlaws: Leslie and Lohman Have Fought to Preserve Gay Art for Three Decades," "New York Blade," March 20, 1998.]

In 1989, the two men applied for nonprofit status as a precursor to establishing a foundation to preserve their collection of gay art and continue exhibition efforts. The Internal Revenue Service objected to the word "gay" in the title of the foundation, and held up the nonprofit application for nearly a decade. The foundation was finally granted nonprofit status in 1990.

The Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation first location was in a basement at 127B Prince Street in New York City. [Lee, "The Week Ahead: Jan. 22 - Jan. 28," "New York Times," January 22, 2006.]

In 2006, LLGAF moved into a much larger ground floor gallery at 26 Wooster Street in SoHo. The Foundation retains its original home for storage and archive purposes. [Twomey, "The Culture of Queer: A Tribute to J.B. Harter," "New York Art World," September 2006.]

Governance and finances

The Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation is by a Board of Directors. An Advisory Committee provides expertise and advice. The foundation employs a small full-time staff, although it also relies on the assistance of volunteers to implement its programs.

LLGAF is financed by contributions from private donors as well as a membership program. The foundation expands its collection primarily by donations from artists and collectors.

Notable exhibitions

The foundation hosts five exhibitions of new works each year, although work from the permanent collection is also frequently exhibited. The foundation's 2004 exhibition of the works of painter Patrick Angus drew critical praise. [Aletti, "Patrick Angus at the Leslie-Lohman Gay Art Foundation," "The Village Voice," February 4-10, 2004.]

The foundation was also the first to exhibit the gay erotica of renowned commercial illustrator Bob Ziering. Although Ziering had provided illustrations for Simon and Schuster, The Walt Disney Company, and the New York City Opera (his 40-by-40-foot banner for the Opera's 1986 production of "Don Quichotte" at Lincoln Center caused a sensation), his erotic work remained unknown until LLGAF hosted the first public exhibition of his paintings and drawings in 2004. [Kennedy, "Lust At Last: At Age 70, Illustrator Bob Ziering Shows His Gay Erotic Art for the First Time," "The Advocate," August 17, 2004.]

Notes

References

*Aletti, Vince. "Patrick Angus at the Leslie-Lohman Gay Art Foundation." "The Village Voice." February 4-10, 2004.
*Cotter, Holland. "Gay Pride (and Anguish) Around the Galleries." "New York Times." June 24, 1994.
*De Stefano, George. "Artistic Outlaws: Leslie and Lohman Have Fought to Preserve Gay Art for Three Decades." "New York Blade." March 20, 1998.
*Ellis, Alan. "Arts and Education." In "The Harvey Milk Institute Guide to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Internet Research." Alan Ellis, Liz Highley, Kevin Schaub, Melissa White, and Liz Highleyman, eds. Binghamton, N.Y.: Haworth Press, 2001. ISBN 1560233532
*Kennedy, Sean. "Lust At Last: At Age 70, Illustrator Bob Ziering Shows His Gay Erotic Art for the First Time." "The Advocate." August 17, 2004.
*Lee, Nathan. "The Week Ahead: Jan. 22 - Jan. 28." "New York Times." January 22, 2006.
* [http://www.arlisna.org/news/conferences/1998/proceedings/Pinkpape.txt Lockard, Ray Anne. "Pink Papers and Lavender Files: Preserving Gay and Lesbian Art History in Archival Collections." Art Libraries Society of North America. Session 14. 26th Annual Conference. Philadelphia, Pa., March 10, 1998.] Accessed November 3, 2007.
*Robinson, Ruth. "Future Events From Art to Zippers." "New York Times." April 25, 1982.
*Sanchez, John. "Leslie-Lohman Gallery: The Ultimate Gay Portfolio." "Genre Magazine." September 2000.
*Saslow, James M. "Pictures and Passions. A History of Homosexuality in the Visual Arts." New York: Viking Press, 1999. ISBN 0670859532
*Summers, Claude J., ed. "The Queer Encyclopedia of the Visual Arts." San Francisco: Cleis Press, 2004. ISBN 1573441910
*Twomey, Chris. "The Culture of Queer: A Tribute to J.B. Harter." "New York Art World." September 2006.

External links

* [http://www.glbtq.com/arts/leslie_lohman_foundation.html Douglas Blair Turnbaugh. "Leslie-Lohman Gay Art Foundation." GLBTQArts.com. No date.] Accessed November 3, 2007.
* [http://www.leslielohman.org Leslie/Lohman Gay Art Foundation Web site]