Art is Lesbian

Art which I find interesting and gay.

[efemmera-archive]

Photos of leatherdykes, a lesbian contingent of the leather S/M subculture that emerged in the 1970s and 80s

I believe that the world’s problems can be solved in the bedroom. … S&M is a liberating game; it liberates both man and woman, butch and femme without necessarily taking their chosen roles away from they (if they still want to keep them once they understand the game). S&M teaches you that both sides have the power and how they can use it to their best advantage. —Rosenjoy, in GCN, 1976

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[random-brushstrokes]

Marie-Augustin Zwiller (French, 1850 - 1939)

[random-brushstrokes]

William John Leech - The Cigarette (ca. 1915)

[random-brushstrokes]

Georg Tappert - Lady with a feather boa (ca. 1931)

[maudelynn]

I love this drawing by Henry Patrick Raleigh

[random-brushstrokes]

Maria Dulębianka (Polish, 1861-1919) - Portret, 4

[vestiaireartistique]

Title: Evening Party Date: early 20th century Technique: Oil on canvas Place of conservation: Private collection

I accidentally stumbled upon this magnificent work of art ! Unfortunately little known, Delphin Enjolras (French, 1857 - 1945) bathes the scene in a soft nocturnal glow, transforming a quiet musical gathering into a moment of pure elegance and intimacy. Silken gowns shimmer beneath the lantern light, while the reflections upon the water and the delicate garden atmosphere create a dreamlike serenity. The painting feels less like a formal composition than a fleeting summer memory filled with music, perfume, warm evening air, and Belle Époque refinement.

[oldpaintings]

Mary Magdalene, 1879 by Frederic James Shields (English, 1833-1911)

[makingqueerhistory]

"Marie Høeg (1866-1949) and Bolette Berg (1872-1944) were Norwegian photographers from Horten, Norway. Marie, the more outgoing of the two, was an active women's rights advocate who also enjoyed crossdressing in private. A private collection of photographs from the Berg and Høeg photography studio primarily shows Marie, with occasional appearances of Bolette, crossdressing in various fashions. These photographs show Marie's willingness to digress from and contradict social norms. From Institution(s): Preus Museum"

[zorya]

Son of the White Mare / Fehérlófia (1981) dir. Marcell Jankovics

[shouty-y]

Lesbian knights ⚔️ - Prints

[random-brushstrokes]

Lluís Masriera Rosés - Attic Bird (1898)

[achillesinhighheels]

The Lovers by Jef Joseph Marie Thomas Lambeaux (1852-1908)

[butch-ramblings]

Marsha P. Johnson by Andy Warhol, 1975

[grubloved]

i see a lot of art filled with plants, like, in the american art scene there seems to be a kind of general movement towards and appreciation of ruined structures being overtaken by nature. offices full of dead computers and leaves. walls with ivy. old factories crawling with new growth. a symbol of degrowth, of new futures that devour and reject colonial modernism, of a refutation of the tyranny over land. it's a nice sentiment.

but consistently im noticing something odd, which is that over and over the plants depicted in art are very familiar -- they're houseplants. pothos. monstera. calathea. zamioculcas. plants growing in the wrong place, at the wrong time, in the wrong climate, a mishmash of unrelated folks with far-flung origins symbolizing "natural" retaking of the modern world.

plants, specifically, that are directly tied to the legacy of colonialism. from northern africa. from southern america. from india. plants that were collected as curios during periods of direct imperialism. plants kept as trophies, plants sold at high prices. plants that are "exotic". that are beautiful. that are high-value. plants whose people got no payment for their capture.

they're the plants people in american colonial territory, who lack access to native plant community, see most often -- that is, other than "weeds". and so when these artists reach for the pure idea of plant, the concept of nature, these plants are their only blueprint. dragging with them all of the baggage of hundreds of years of empire.

it's incredible how much this changes the messaging of the image. dreams of ecological participation stained with a creeping theme of alienation from their native biosphere. the thumbprint of colonialism, clear as day. a hopeful vision of the future, kneecapped by its own symbology. hundreds of individual artists so alienated from their own ecosystems that even their fantasy of participation with nature is inextricable from colonialist trophies. trying to imagine reclaiming the world.

[random-brushstrokes]

Paul Hagemans (Belgian, 1884-1959) - Spanish dancers

[ymutate]

Brian Haberlin (American, born 1963)

Pygmalion, 2025

Watercolor on paper

21 × 14 in (53.3 × 35.6 cm)

Private collection