Charles Leslie was a queer man born in born in Deadwood South Dakota, a place not known for its queerness. Leslie found a deep interest in queer history when he was stationed in Germany during the Korean war. It was there where he was exposed to the works of Mangus Hirschfeld, a sexologist who studied queer identities. It wasn’t until this discovery that Leslie realized that there was substantial queer history to be found, especially in art. In 1962 Leslie met Fritz Lohman, an interior decorator with connections in high places. Partially due to his new lovers resources, and partially because of his own connections in the art and theater societies, Leslie was able to collect more art. He continued to collect art, specifically queer coded art, and art by queer people. Leslie’s focus was erotic queer art, or art that had a certain “frisson”. The world wasn’t very accepting of queerness in media, but a few things in 1969 might have changed the public’s view. Leslie claims those events are Woodstock, the stonewall rebellion, and his very own exhibition of homoerotic art he and his partner held in their Soho home. By 1972, the couple had already hosted 3 such exhibits, never with a shortage of participants or attendants. Over the years, the exhibition has moved from their home, which has since been lovingly dubbed the “phallus palace”, to The Leslie Lohman Gallery on Broome Street in 1972 after the third home exhibition, to finally receiving a provisional charter allowing them to become the first gay art museum in 2011 and having their first show at that location in 2016. The birth of this collection took place over the AIDS crisis, and sadly a portion of the art they have acquired was due to queer artists passing and their art needing to be rescued to not be forgotten or erased.

This historical context shows how fresh the concept of openly queer art was in the 60s and 70s, but also that it was by no means unpopular. It was simply suppressed, despite its large fanbase of both enjoyers and creators.  

Ryan, Hugh. “What It Took to Create the World’s First Gay Art Museum.” Smithsonian Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 July 2015, www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/what-it-took-create-worlds-first-gay.... Accessed 9 Apr. 2025.

Wikipedia Contributors. “Charles Leslie (Art Collector).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Oct. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Leslie_(art_collector). Accessed 9 Apr. 2025.

---. “Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art.” Wikipedia, 28 Jan. 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie-Lohman_Museum_of_Art. Accessed 9 Apr. 2025.

Alice Neel and John Perreault were both what some would consider “weird”. They were unique and did things their own way. But they had their fair share of struggles. I feel like their activism and perseverance, especially considering the time they lived in, said a lot about them. Neel was a feminist icon. She struggled with concepts of feminism, motherhood, loss, restriction, and finally freedom. She portrayed women in such an intelligent way. She knew about the male gaze and how women in art have been objectified, and she chose to use her talent to combat that and create the change she wanted to see. She knew what it felt like to be judged, stifled, lost. And she never wanted to create that for her subjects. Perreault, despite being a man, was an ally for feminist movements and women’s rights. He was also a supporter for queer rights, as he was a gay man. He used his position as a top critic to boost art that was outside of the norm, much like Neels. But they were far from the only ones who wanted to see more progressive art. Leslie and Lohman’s exhibits show that hundreds of people were interested in exhibits solely dedicated to queer art. Queer artist were discouraged from making art that reflects their queerness because they are under the impression that “no one wanted it”. The same can likely be said for art that exhibits themes of feminism and race. Perreault and Leslie and Lohman created spaces for queer art to exist and be appreciated as it should in a world that doesn’t give it its flowers, and Perreault and Neel both produced said queer art and media.