Male Desire

Male Desire entertains, stimulates, seduces, enlightens: it is the perfect art history course, slide after delicious slide, with piquant, smart commentary." —Wayne Koestenbaum Examining the history of homoeroticism in American art, Male Desire surveys how the male body has been portrayed for the last century and a half. From the academic-style paintings of Thomas Eakins in the 19th century to Félix González-Torres's conceptual works in the "age of AIDS," this fascinating book by the well-known art historian Jonathan Weinberg highlights specific artists while illuminating the artistic and cultural contexts in which they worked. Accompanying Weinberg's engaging text are 170 compelling images of the male physique by such artists as George Bellows, Marsden Hartley, Paul Cadmus, Andy Warhol, and Robert Mapplethorpe, works that address the theme of the homoerotic in vivid and often contentious ways. While they range widely in style and content, these artworks all share a quality of excess in the way they represent the male figure. Sexy, beautiful, edgy, and thought provoking, this important book is a must-have for every art-book collection, as well as the library of every gay man.