The exquisitely homoerotic artwork of Captain Roy Cecil Hodgkinson, Australia’s official war artist during World War II (from 1942).
Born in 1911, Hodgkinson (pictured at work above), studied art and traveled throughout Europe from 1938-1940, including hosting exhibitions of his drawings of ballet dancers. He enlisted in the war effort upon his return to Australia, and was made the official war artist in 1942- working throughout the Asia-Pacific region where Australians were engaged in combat.
His work is mentioned by the Australian War Memorial as being uniquely ‘everyday’, but what is not remarked upon is that not only did Hodgkinson capture the homoerotic/romantic element of mateship, but that at least one of his drawings- an official work- includes the depiction of a drag performance at camp*.
Rendering Mines Safe, 1942
Wounded Gunner Home From Lae (Sergeant David Duncan and Flying Officer Harold Rowell), 1943
Papua New Guinea Concert Party, 1942
*Note: While drag in Australia contains humour, it is (or was) culturally distinct from forms of drag performed in the UK and particularly in the US. Drag has been a relatively ‘mainstream’, visible entertainment form here for decades, and has a reasonably broad audience outside of gay clubs and the scene. In that sense, wartime drag performances in the Australian forces had a different social and cultural context than in other forces. Hence Hodgkinson’s image of the drag performance is capturing a particular complexity around gender, mateship, and sexuality that shouldn’t be taken as equivalent to similar performances amongst US and UK troops.
Sources: Australian War Memorial, Hidden in plain sight — Australian queer men and women before gay liberation, #ArtDept: Australian War Artist, Roy Cecil Hodgkinson
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