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Charles Leslie with Kim David Smith posing as a “classical nude,” photographed by Alex Geana
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Charles W. Leslie was one of the fathers of modern SoHo in New York, and he also had the biggest penis art collection in the world. Together with his late partner Fritz Lohmann, he founded the first ever museum dedicated to gay and lesbian art. His incredible story is told in "The Art of Looking" by acclaimed author Kevin Clarke and it makes for a really fascinating read.
In 1969 Charles and Fritz started showing some of their extensive collection in the own Soho Apartment. Later during the AIDS pandemic of the 1980's a lot of really good gay art was been thrown away or destroyed by families intent on trying to hide their loved one's sexuality, and Charles and Fritz knew that these really should be preserved. They collected whatever they could lay their hands on and formed a small non-profit organization which eventually developed in to the Leslie Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art which still flourishes today.
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| MARION PINTO Male Odalisque |
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| GILBERT LEWIS Swimmer, |
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| JOHN BURTON HARTER Cocktail Party, |
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| ROLF KOPPEL Self Portrait Reclining |
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| Charles & Fritz'z SoHo Apartment |
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| Head shot of Charles Leslie taken by Maurice Blackman, a famous theater photographer of the late 1950s. |
Further information : "The Art of Looking" book
