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42
(LEVY, JULIEN)
Untitled. Silver print photomontage with pen-and-ink, overall size 6 3/4x4 3/4 inches (17.2x12 cm.). Circa 1930
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Notes: from the collection of allen porter who later went on to work at the Museum of Modern Art and was an integral figure in New York's gay smart set. This photomontage-cum-puzzle, in which a phallus figures prominently (if subtly), draws liberally on both homoerotic and surreal themes. The maker may be George Platt Lynes, who was then a young artist influenced by the bold sexuality associated with surrealism. By 1931 the twenty-four-year old Lynes had the first show(of 3) at Levy's eponymous gallery, and went on to become a celebrated photographer of the male nude.
This work depicts a man in profile, apparently the Levy, who is outlined in white against a black background. At first glance the hand-drawn eye appears unremarkable until the viewer recognizes that the "eyebrow" is actually a penis; the bottom of the picture seemingly depicts an unmade bed. According to julien levy, portrait of an art gallery (Cambridge and London, 1998), page 157, Lynes and Levy jointly created photographic works involving similar photographic tropes, such as reverse tonalities and superimposition. While the name of the artist is uncertain, it has all the hallmarks of a signature image by Lynes--who was the most important photographer of the period to artistically interpret the male nude.
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February 17, 2004 12:00 AM EST
New York, NY, US
Swann Auction Galleries
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