Born Lucy Renee Mathilde Schwob, Claude Cahun was a French surrealist photographer, sculptor and writer. They were non-binary and stated that “Neuter is the only gender that always suits me.” They collaborated with their step-sister and lover Marcel Moore. Cahun is best known for their surrealist self-portraits which appear to experiment with gender presentation. This work is a typical example.
1929, Musée d'Art
Moderne
Gluck (born Hannah Gluckstein) was a British painter known for portraits and floral paintings. They were gender nonconforming and rejected any forename or prefix. Gluck had relationships with a number of women including Nesta Obermer. They considered this painting of the two of them to be their marriage picture.
1937, Private
Collection
Beauford Delaney was an American modernist painter known for working with the Harlem Renaissance in the 30s and 40s. He was gay and suffered the societal persecutions of both his race and sexuality. Delaney moved to New York during the Great Depression and found an affinity with the poor and disenfranchised community in Harlem. They became the subjects of many of his works including this painting.
1946, Smithsonian American
Art
Museum
Frida Kahlo was a Mexican painter known for self-portraits and work inspired by Mexico. Kahlo was married to Mexican painter Diego Rivera for many years but was known to have affairs with both men and women. Life experience is common in Kahlo's work and it often reflects he physical and emotional pain, this painting is a classic example.
1939, Museo de Arte
Moderno
Francis Bacon was an Irish-born British figurative painter. He is known for his raw unsettling imagery and often created art in triptych or diptych format. Bacon was gay and spent a number of years with Londoner George Dyer. He created a number of artworks of Dyer including this painting.
1968, The Estate of Francis
Bacon
Andy Warhol was an American artist, film director and producer know for his pop art. He lived as an openly gay man before the gay liberation movement. Warhol often made mass-produced works of commercial items like this Brillo Box.
1964, Andy Warhol Foundation
for the Visual
Atrs
Robert Mapplethorpe was an American photographer. He was best known for his black-and-white photographs and in particular his controversial works presenting the gay male BDSM subculture of New York City. The case and acquittal around his The Perfect Moment exhibition reaffirmed the right to freedom of speech and changed the world for the LGBTQI+ community. This self portrait was taken about a year before his death due to complications of AIDS.
1980, Solomon R. Guggenheim
Museum
Keith Haring was part of the legendary New York art scene of the 1980s. His work was inspired by graffiti, pop art and underground club culture. He used his images for social activism by advocating for safe sex and AIDS awareness. This piece is one example of those images.
1989, Whitney Museum of
American
Art
Catherine Opie is an American fine-art photographer. She studies the connections between mainstream and infrequent society. Her work is known for dealing with questions of sexual identity, queer subculture and how people relate to their communities. This image is part of the Being and Having series of photos which show Lesbians wearing stereotypical masculine accessories.
1991, Catherine
Opie
Zanele is a South African artist who works in photography, video and installation. Muholi is non-binary and is known for their work documenting the lives of South Africa's Black lesbian, gay, trans, queer and intersex communities. This work is one such example.
2003, Zanele
Muholi