George Platt Lynes (April 15, 1907 – December 6, 1955) was an American

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

and

commercial photographer Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed i ...

who worked in the 1930s and 1940s. He produced photographs featuring many gay artists and writers from the 1940s that were acquired by the

Kinsey Institute The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction (often shortened to The Kinsey Institute) is a research institute at Indiana University. Established in Bloomington, Indiana, in 1947 as a nonprofit, the institute merged with Indi ...

after his death in 1955.

Early life

Born in

East Orange, New Jersey East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was List of municipalities in ...

to Adelaide Sparkman and Joseph Russell Lynes (died 1932). His younger brother was Joseph Russell Lynes, Jr. (1910–1991). Lynes spent his childhood in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

but attended the

Berkshire School Berkshire School is a private, co-ed boarding school for grades 9 through 12 located in Sheffield, Massachusetts, USA. History 1907–1943: Founding and early years Berkshire School (for boys) was established in 1907 at the foot of Mount Ever ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, where he was a classmate of

Lincoln Kirstein Lincoln Edward Kirstein (May 4, 1907 – January 5, 1996) was an American writer, impresario, art connoisseur, philanthropist, and cultural figure in New York City, noted especially as co-founder of the New York City Ballet. He developed and sus ...

(1907–1996). He was sent to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1925 with the idea of better preparing him for college. His life was forever changed by the circle of friends that he would meet there including

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...

Glenway Wescott Glenway Wescott (April 11, 1901 – February 22, 1987) was an American poet, novelist and essayist. A figure of the American expatriate literary community in Paris during the 1920s, Wescott was openly gay.Eric Haralson, ''Henry James and Queer Mo ...

Monroe Wheeler Monroe Wheeler (13 February, 1899 – 14 August, 1988) was an American publisher and museum coordinator whose relationship with the novelist and poet Glenway Wescott lasted from 1919 until Wescott's death in 1987. Biography Wheeler was born in Ev ...

. He attended

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

in 1926, but dropped out after a year to move to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Career

He returned to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

with the idea of a literary career and he even opened a bookstore in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...

in 1927. He first became interested in

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

not with the idea of a career, but to take photographs of his friends and display them in his bookstore. Returning to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

the next year in the company of Wescott and Wheeler, he traveled around Europe for the next several years, always with his camera at hand. He developed close friendships within a larger circle of artists including

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (, , ; 5 July 1889 – 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, filmmaker, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost creatives of the su ...

and

Julien Levy Julien Levy (1906–1981) was an art dealer and owner of Julien Levy Gallery in New York City, important as a venue for Surrealists, avant-garde artists, and American photographers in the 1930s and 1940s. Biography Levy was born in New York. Aft ...

, the art dealer and critic. Levy would exhibit his photographs in his

gallery Gallery or The Gallery may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Art gallery ** Contemporary art gallery Music * Gallery (band), an American soft rock band of the 1970s Albums * ''Gallery'' (Elaiza album), 2014 album * ''Gallery'' (Gr ...

in 1932 and Lynes would open his studio there that same year.

Commercial work

He was soon receiving commissions from ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

'', '' Town & Country'', and ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' including a cover with perhaps the first

supermodel A supermodel, also spelled super-model or super model, is a highly paid fashion model who usually has a worldwide reputation and often a background in ''haute couture'' and commercial modeling. The term ''supermodel'' became prominent in the po ...

Lisa Fonssagrives Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa Lisa (born 1967), American actress and lead singer of the Cult Jam * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA", Japanese singer and producer * Lisa Komine (born 1978), ...

. In 1935, he was asked to document the principal dancers and productions of Kirstein's and

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

's newly founded

American Ballet The American Ballet was the first professional ballet company George Balanchine created in the United States. The company was founded with the help of Lincoln Kirstein and Edward Warburg, managed by Alexander Merovitch and populated by students ...

company (now the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

Private collection

He was also most notably friends with

Katherine Anne Porter Katherine Anne Porter (May 15, 1890 – September 18, 1980) was an American journalist, essayist, short story writer, novelist, and political activist. Her 1962 novel ''Ship of Fools'' was the best-selling novel in America that year, but her sho ...

, author of the novel ''

Ship of Fools The ship of fools is an allegory, originating from Book VI of Plato's ''Republic'', about a ship with a dysfunctional crew. The allegory is intended to represent the problems of governance prevailing in a political system not based on expert kn ...

'', who he often enjoyed photographing wearing elaborate evening gowns and occasionally reenacting Shakespeare. During his lifetime, Lynes amassed a substantial body of work involving nude and homoerotic photography. In the 1930s, he began taking nudes of friends, performers, and models, including a young

Yul Brynner Yuliy Borisovich Briner (russian: link=no, Юлий Борисович Бринер; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner, was a Russian-born actor. He was best known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in the ...

, although these remained private, unknown, and unpublished for years. Over the following two decades, Lynes continued his work in this area passionately, albeit privately. "The depth and commitment he had in photographing the male nude, from the start of his career to the end, was astonishing. There was absolutely no commercial impulse involved — he couldn't exhibit it, he couldn't publish it." – Allen Ellenzweig, art and photography critic who wrote the introduction to ''George Platt Lynes: The Male Nudes'', published in 2011 by Rizzoli. In the late 1940s, Lynes became acquainted with Dr.

Alfred Kinsey Alfred Charles Kinsey (; June 23, 1894 – August 25, 1956) was an American sexologist, biologist, and professor of entomology and zoology who, in 1947, founded the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University, now known as the Kinsey Instit ...

and his

Institute An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside ...

. Kinsey took an interest in Lynes work, as he was researching homosexuality in America at the time. A large number of Lynes' nude and homoerotic works were left to the Kinsey Institute after his death in 1955. The body of work residing at the Kinsey Institute remained largely unknown until it was made public and published later. The Kinsey collection represents one of the largest single collections of Lynes's work.

Personal life

For over ten years, Lynes had a love affair with both

, the curator, and

(1901–1987), the writer. He later got together with his studio assistant and, after he died in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Lynes moved in with the younger brother of the assistant.

Death

By May 1955, Lynes had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. He closed his studio and was reported to have destroyed much of his print and negative archives, particularly his male nudes. However, it is now known that he had transferred many of these works to the Kinsey Institute. "He clearly was concerned that this work, which he considered his greatest achievement as a photographer, should not be dispersed or destroyed...We have to remember the time period we're talking about—America during the post-war Red Scare..." After a final trip to Europe, Lynes returned to New York City, where he died in 1955, while living with his brother and his family.

Exhibitions

Solo

* 1932, Julian Levy Gallery, New York, NY * 1960, ''Portraits by George Platt Lynes'',

The Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

, Chicago, IL * 1980, ''Fleeting Gestures: Treasure of Dance Photography'', Institute of Contemporary Art,

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, Philadelphia, PA * 1993, ''George Platt Lynes: A New Look'',

Wessel + O'Connor Fine Art Wessel may refer to: * Wessel (name), including a list of people with the name * Wessel Islands, a group of islands forming part of the Northern Territory, Australia, named after the Dutch ship ''Wesel'' in 1636 ** Cape Wessel, the most northerly ...

, New York, NY * 1993, ''George Platt Lynes: Photographs from the Kinsey Institute'', Grey Art Gallery at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, New York, NY * 1997 ''George Platt Lynes'', Wessel + O'Connor Fine Art, New York, NY * 2003, ''George Balanchine and his Dancers: the Ballet Photography of George Platt Lynes'', The Kinsey Institute Gallery, Bloomington, IN * 2005, ''Fashioning Celebrity: Photographs of George Platt Lynes'',

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center (until 1983 the Humanities Research Center) is an archive, library and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe for the pur ...

, Austin, TX * 2005, ''George Platt Lynes'', Wessel + O'Connor Fine Art, New York, NY * 2008, ''Vintage Ballet Photographs'', Craig Krull Gallery, Santa Monica, CA * 2011, ''George Platt Lynes'', Throckmorton Fine Art, New York, NY * 2012, ''George Platt Lynes'', Steven Kasher Gallery, New York, NY * 2014, ''George Platt Lynes'', Wessel + O'Connor Fine Art, Lambertville, NJ

Group

* 1932, ''Murals by American Painters and Photographers'',

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

, New York, NY * 1937, ''Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism'', Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY * 1951, ''Abstraction in Photography'', Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY * 1977, ''documenta 6'', Documenta, Kassel, Germany * 1992, ''Figure/Form: The Nude in 20th Century Photography'', Jan Kesner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA * 1992, ''Classic Dualities: The Photographs of Len Prince taken at the Tampa Museum of Art'', Fay Gold Gallery, Atlanta, GA * 1999, ''Figurescapes'', Radiant Light Gallery, Portland, ME * 2001, ''Interwoven Lives: George Platt Lynes and his Friends'', DC Moore Gallery, New York, NY * 2002, ''Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall'', Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada * 2003, ''Flesh Tones – 100 Years of the Nude'', Robert Mann Gallery, New York, NY * 2003, ''Artseal Gallery Photo SF Preview'', Artseal Gallery, San Francisco, CA * 2003, ''Herb Ritts Private Collection'', Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles, CA * 2003, ''Boys of Summer'', ClampArt, New York, NY * 2005, ''Summer Skin'', Stephen Cohen Gallery, Los Angeles, CA * 2005, ''From the Source'', Fashion Photographs, Corkin Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada * 2005, ''Beyond Real Part 1 Dressing Up'', Australian Centre for Photography,

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

* 2005, ''20th Anniversary Show'', Wessel + O'Connor Fine Art, New York, NY * 2006, ''American Icons'', Corkin Gallery,

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada * 2006, ''Busy going crazy: The Sylvio Perlstein Collection'', La Maison Rouge, Paris, France * 2007, ''Igor Strawinsky – ich muss die Kunst anfassen'', Museum der Moderne Rupertinum,

Salzburg, Austria Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

* 2007, ''VIP'',

National Gallery of Australia The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

, Canberra, Australia * 2007, ''Classic Beauty: Part 2 Photographs of the Male Nude'', Throckmorton Fine Art, New York, NY * 2007, ''MODE: BILDER, NRW Forum Kultur und Wirtschaft'', Düsseldorf, Germany * 2008, ''Vintage / Vantage'', Wessel + O'Connor Fine Art, New York, NY * 2008, ''Pre-Revolutionary Queer: Gay Art and Culture Before Stonewall'', The Kinsey Institute, Bloomington, IN * 2010, ''Flirting with Bling'', Corkin Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, Canada * 2010, ''Nature & Nurture: Exploring Human Reproduction from Pregnancy through Early Childhood'', The Kinsey Institute, Bloomington, IN * 2010, ''Staff Picks 2010'', Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York, NY * 2010, ''25 Years / 25 Works'', Wessel + O'Connor Fine Art, Washington, D.C. * 2011, ''Narcissus Reflected'', Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland * 2011, ''An Intimate Circle'', DC Moore Gallery, New York, NY * 2011, ''Psyche & Muse: Creative Entanglements with the Science of the Soul'',

Beinecke Library The Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library () is the rare book library and literary archive of the Yale University Library in New Haven, Connecticut. It is one of the largest buildings in the world dedicated to rare books and manuscripts. Es ...

at Yale University, New Haven, CT * 2013, ''Fashion: Photography from the Condé Nast Archives'', Fondazione Forma per la Fotografia,

Milan, Italy Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

* 2019, ''Sex Crimes'', ClampArt, New York, NY

Collections

* Musée des beaux-arts du Canada,

National Gallery of Canada The National Gallery of Canada (french: Musée des beaux-arts du Canada), located in the capital city of Ottawa, Ontario, is Canada's national art museum. The museum's building takes up , with of space used for exhibiting art. It is one of the l ...

Cape Breton University , "Diligence Will Prevail" , mottoeng = Perseverance Will Triumph , established = 1951 as Xavier Junior College 1968 as NSEIT 1974 as College Of Cape Breton 1982 as University College of Cape Breton 2005 as Cape Breton ...

Art Gallery permanent collection in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. * Centre Pompidou Musée National d́Art Moderne, Paris * Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain, Strasbourg * The Secret Museum, Montreal *

The Israel Museum The Israel Museum ( he, מוזיאון ישראל, ''Muze'on Yisrael'') is an art and archaeological museum in Jerusalem. It was established in 1965 as Israel's largest and foremost cultural institution, and one of the world’s leading encyclopa ...

, Jerusalem *

, Chicago, IL *

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Pa ...

– LACMA, Los Angeles, CA *

Norton Museum of Art The Norton Museum of Art is an art museum located in West Palm Beach, Florida. Its collection includes over 8,200 works, with a concentration in European, American, and Chinese art as well as in contemporary art and photography. In 2003, it overt ...

, West Palm Beach, FL *

Guggenheim Museum The Guggenheim Museums are a group of museums in different parts of the world established (or proposed to be established) by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Museums in this group include: Locations Americas * The Solomon R. Guggenhei ...

, New York, NY *

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

References

Citations Works cited *

James Crump James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

(1993). ''George Platt Lynes: Photographs from the Kinsey Institute.'' Bulfinch Press/Little Brown & Company. . *

and

Anatole Pohorilenko Anatole may refer to: People * Anatole (given name), a French masculine given name * Anatole (dancer) (19th century), French ballet dancer * Alex Anatole (born 1948), Russian-American Taoist priest * Anatole France (born 1844), a French poet, ...

(1998). ''When we were three: The travel albums of George Platt Lynes, Monroe Wheeler, and Glenway Wescott, 1925–1935.'' Arena Editions. . * * * *

External links

Image of George Platt Lynes, Self-Portrait, Hollywood, ca. 1947.

*
Portraits by George Platt Lynes
at the

. * George Platt Lynes Diaries and Memorabilia. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. * George Platt Lynes Scrapbooks. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lynes, George Platt 1907 births 1955 deaths Commercial photographers Fashion photographers American portrait photographers Nude photography Gay artists American LGBT photographers LGBT people from New Jersey Artists from New Jersey People from East Orange, New Jersey Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) Berkshire School alumni 20th-century American photographers 20th-century American male artists 20th-century LGBT people