[disc80s]

x

[catchymemes]

[flowerytale]

Margaret Atwood, from The Blind Assassin

[manrippedapartbydogs]

[aphelia]

000018 by katik_zaikova on Flickr.

[julian-onderdonk]

Path through a Field of Bluebonnets, Robert Julian Onderdonk

[gardengnosticator]

getting teary eyed thinking about gerda gottlieb's paintings of her wife after she transitioned

[gardengnosticator]

[narcissus-thee-squeekual]

thing is, for a lot of these paintings it wasn’t “after” lily elbe’s transition. there was no after to it. the one op posted was painted in 1928. this was 2 years before lily legally changed her name and began undergoing revolutionary gender affirming procedures. unfortunately she died due to complications of an experimental uterine transplant in 1931.

up until that point, during the day lily continued to dress in masculine clothing and even attended galleries showing gottlieb’s paintings of her. which was kind of iconic. she got to stand in a room full of people who were marveling her beauty, not knowing she was right next to them. it must have been such a cute little secret for them as a couple.

here’s gerda and lilly together

not to mention that for most people there is no real “after” to a transition. especially for these trans historical figures who had to balance identity and safety at all times.

i think having a wife paint these portraits must have felt really amazing for lily. to be able to see herself through the eyes of someone who loved her. i’m very much seconding op on the getting teary eyed.

here are some of my favorite gottleib lily paintings

[nevver]

I see green, icy blue - Giorgos Galanopoulos

[evaunit08]

only americans will understand::

shirley temple DVD set infomercial 

[kluex-moved]

[warmfuzzyphoto]

1980s

[maureen2musings]

212._.film

[dappermouth]

And then you had that dream again.

[dominicpix]

[holespoles]

Rotraut Susanne Berner

[llovinghome]

[nemfrog]

Plump cherries. Twentieth Century Fruits. 1916-17.

Internet Archive

[caelestiaal]

“Dawn was breaking over the horizon, shell pink and faintly gold…” ― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows