Pride Month is here, and while the celebrations go on as they always do, this year’s have been shadowed by a wave of trans- and homophobic incidents as well as by a spate of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation coming out of Republican-controlled statehouses. Elements on the right seem bent on forcing the LGBTQ+ community back into the closet, but unfortunately for them, they’re too late: Whether it’s in the courts or at the polls, they’re unlikely to succeed in the long run.
The spirit of Pride continues, as does the vital place of queer people in American society and culture. And there is no better evidence of that than the current slate of institutional exhibitions by LGBTQ+ artists across the country.
Below are 12 shows we recommend by a variety of artists working in multiple mediums who keep the rainbow flag flying high and proud.
Even if you’ve never heard of J. C. Leyendecker (1874–1951), his work as a commercial artist may seem vaguely familiar to you as part of the popular culture of the early 20th century, especially the Roaring Twenties. Leyendecker’s distinctive designs, like his ads for Arrow Shirt collars, helped to define the image of men for his era (and the producers of the 1973 hit film The Sting certainly knew of him, borrowing his style in posters for the movie). Leyendecker lent his models an air of elegant sophistication and, since he was gay, a homoerotic undertone that went unnoticed by most people who saw his work in newspapers and in magazines like the Saturday Evening Post (for which he shared cover art duties with Norman Rockwell). With “Under Cover: J. C. Leyendecker and American Masculinity,” the New-York Historical Society resurfaces Leyendecker’s work and its stealthy influence on an unaware public. Through August 13.
