• Intelligencer
  • The Cut
  • Vulture
  • The Strategist
  • Curbed
  • Grub Street
  • Subscribe to the Magazine Give a Gift Subscription Buy Back Issues Current Issue Contents New York Shop
    Subscribe to New York Magazine
  • Subscribe
  • Profile
    Sign Out
The Cut
  • Style
  • Self
  • Culture
  • Power
Style
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Parties & Red Carpet
  • Fashion Shows
  • Cathy Horyn
  • The Cut Shop
Self
  • Health & Wellness
  • The State of the Uterus
  • Parenting
  • Advice
  • Sex & Relationships
  • Horoscopes
Culture
  • Books
  • Television
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Celebrity
Power
  • Politics
  • Work
  • Money
  • Rebecca Traister
More
  • Latest Stories
  • Video
  • About Us
  • nymag.com
  • New York Magazine
  • Intelligencer
  • Vulture
  • The Cut
  • The Strategist
  • Grub Street
  • Curbed
first looks
April 11, 2013

Photos: Paul Thek and His Merry Band of Fifties Gay Artists

By Julie Ma

Share

  • Share
  • Tweet
Photo: Collection of Peter Harvey

Starting tomorrow, the artist who became famous in the sixties for a series known as “meat pieces” (the gag-inducing yet hypnotizing slabs of oozing fleshlike works housed in plexiglass cases) will be honored at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art in an exhibition called “Paul Thek and His Circle in the 1950s.” Rather than presenting art from Thek’s more famous years, the museum chose to delve back into the years just prior to his national fame, starting in 1954. The exhibition focuses on the young, openly gay artist in his early twenties, which includes photographs of him hanging out with his close crop of friends and fellow soon-to-be iconic gay artists, some of whom turned into his lovers, and all of whom inspired his future works. Fittingly, the show is curated by one of Thek’s lifelong friends and former lovers, set designer Peter Harvey, and gay art historian Jonathan David Katz. Click through the slideshow to see sketches by the artist of his lover asleep in the nude, or photographs of Thek himself, doing everything from looking nonchalant in sunglasses and itty-bitty swim trunks, to sitting on a lawn with a wreath of flowers perched atop his head, or our personal favorite: Paul Thek riding a zebra in the nude. The exhibit will run until July 7.

View
1 / 14 Photos
Paul Thek, Nantucket, R.I., 1955 Photo: Collection of Peter Harvey
Paul Thek and Peter Harvey, NYC, 1956 Photo: Watermill Center Collection
Paul Fisher & Paul Thek, Rhode Island, 1957 Photo: Collection of Peter Harvey
Miami Photo (Richard Leavitt, Peter Harvey, Tennesee Williams, and Paul Thek), 1957 Photo: Collection of Peter Harvey
Paul Thek, Nude, Astride Zebra, 1965 Photo: Copyright 1987 The Peter Hujar Archive, LLC; Courtesy Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York and Fraenkel Gallery... Paul Thek, Nude, Astride Zebra, 1965 Photo: Copyright 1987 The Peter Hujar Archive, LLC; Courtesy Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York and Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco
Sleeping Peter, 1956 Photo: Estate of George Paul Thek, Collection of Peter Harvey
Still Life, 1953 Photo: Estate of George Paul Thek, Collection of Peter Harvey
Peter and Two Pauls in Rhode Island, 1957 Photo: Collection of Peter Harvey
Shower Room, 1955 Photo: Collection of Peter Harvey
Seated Male Nude, 1960 Photo: Collection of Peter Harvey
Untitled #75, 1964 Photo: Watermill Center Collection
Portrait of Peter Hujar, c.1963 Photo: The estate of George Paul Thek, Courtesy Alexander and Bonin, New York
Paul Thek, Rhode Island, 1957 Photo: Collection of Peter Harvey
Peter Hujar and Joe Raffael in the Deering Boat House Ruins, Coral Gables, 1956 Photo: Collection of Peter Harvey
1 / 14

Tags:

  • paul thek
  • slideshow
  • vintage photographs
  • photographs
  • the '50s
  • leslie-lohman museum
  • icons
  • first looks
  • More

More Galleries

May 26, 2023
Cannes Film Festival 2023: Red Carpet  There’s more than movies to be shown. Here are all of the looks at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. 
keeping up with the royals May 6, 2023
All the Looks From King Charles III’s Coronation  Robes, crowns, and Katy Perry. 
By Brooke LaMantia
met gala 2023 May 2, 2023
Met Gala 2023: All the Looks  See all the dresses, some on-theme and some, well, not so much — honoring Karl Lagerfeld at the Met Gala. 
By Brooke LaMantia
oscars 2023 Mar. 12, 2023
Oscars Red Carpet 2023: Every Look  Rihanna! Florence Pugh! Michelle Yeoh! They’re all here. 
celebrity Feb. 19, 2023
All the Best Looks From the 2023 BAFTAs Red Carpet  Florence Pugh, Barry Keoghan, and Angela Bassett brought color to the red carpet. 
grammys 2023 Feb. 5, 2023
Every Look From the 2023 Grammys Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, Lizzo, Bad Bunny, Adele, Doja Cat, Jack Harlow, Mary J. Blige, Sam Smith, and more.
By Brooke LaMantia
golden globes 2023 Jan. 10, 2023
All the Looks From the 2023 Golden Globes  Sheryl Lee Ralph, Jenna Ortega, Jessica Chastain, Julia Garner, Jeremy Allen White, Angela Bassett, and more. 
parties! Sept. 23, 2022
Katie Holmes, Chloë Sevigny, and More of the Bestest Party Pics This Week  Chanel, Mejuri, and more celebrate. 
parties! Sept. 16, 2022
Doja Cat, Lil Nas X, and More of the Bestest Party Pics This Week  Fendi, Frame, and Coach all celebrated NYFW. 
emmys 2022 Sept. 12, 2022
Emmys 2022: All the Red Carpet Looks  Updating: What Hollywood is wearing to the 2022 Primetime Emmy Awards. 
By Olivia Luppino
nyfw spring 2023 Sept. 9, 2022
Gigi Hadid, Chlöe Bailey, and More of the Bestest Party Pics of the Week  Saks Fifth Avenue, Longchamp, and more celebrate the beginning of NYFW. 
rip Sept. 9, 2022
The Queen Sure Did Love to Color-Coordinate  Monochrome for decades. 
red carpet Sept. 6, 2022
The Venice Film Festival Is a Major Fashion Event  Valentino and Gucci and Armani, oh my. 
red carpet June 5, 2022
All the Best Looks at the 2022 MTV Movie and TV Awards  Sydney Sweeney, Vanessa Hudgens, Jay Ellis, and more! 
parties! May 20, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Harry Styles > everyone! 
parties! May 13, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Bury me in Dove Cameron’s Saint Sintra skirt. 
parties! May 6, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  Cue the Met Gala after-party FOMO. 
met gala 2022 May 2, 2022
Met Gala 2022: All the Looks [Photos]  Billie Eilish, Kim Kardashian, Michelle Yeoh, Hailey Bieber, Megan Thee Stallion, Cardi B, Blake Lively, and more. 
parties! Apr. 29, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  This one goes to Olivia Rodrigo and her sweater vest. 
parties! Apr. 22, 2022
The Bestest Party Looks of the Week  “Fuck those Zoom tops.” 
  • Style
  • Self
  • Culture
  • Power
  • About The Cut
  • About New York Magazine
  • Newsletters
  • Help
  • Contact
  • Press
  • Media Kit
  • We’re Hiring
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Ad Choices
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Accessibility
The Cut is a Vox Media Network. © 2023 Vox Media, LLC. All rights reserved.