Amateur day

It's amateur day again, and we start with a guy who's giving us a knowing look.

 

Odd garment

I can't quite tell what's going on here in the wardrobe department, but I like the snapshot.

 

Photoshopped?

I have a feeling that this one may have been photoshopped,

but my software isn't good enough to detect it.

 

Four on a boat

It was February of 1970 when these four guys posed together on a boat or ship.

Disclosure:  I removed yellowing from this one with a filter.

 

I probably should have saved this one for one of my "oddities" sets, but I couldn't resist.  

These cheeky guys have painted onesies on with mud, and it is a snapshot after all.

 

Garden pairing

These two happy gardeners look like they might be wishing for a wedding.

 

With captive Viking

For some reason this dapper gentleman had his picture taken with 

John Borjesson's Captive Viking in a Stockholm park.

 

Hotel?

I get the feeling that this one was taken in a hotel bathroom.

I really like the way the mirror picks up his not otherwise visible shadow.

 

Messy

I have four or five snaps of this guy in his bathtub.  This one is damaged,

but the pose and expression may be the best of the lot.

 

Idyllic

Our final snapshot shows two guy who are probably skinny dipping

in an idyllic mountain pool with a waterfall.

 

Herb Ritts Day

Herb Ritts (1952-2002) was a remarkable photographer who more than one critic described as having the camera as an attachment to his body.  Like Richard Avedon, George Platt Lynes, Horst P. Horst, and others, he made most of his money doing fashion and celebrity work.  For our purposes, however, we will mainly be interested in his male nude and semi-nude photos.  Despite having survived HIV well into the time of successful drug treatments, Mr. Ritts sadly died from an ordinary strain of pneumonia that most 50 year olds would have shaken off.  His publicist said,  "He died of AIDS."

 

Fred

Our first male nude by Herb Ritts is Fred at Silverlake from 1984.

 

Djimon 1989

This is Djimon, Three-Quarter, 1989.

 

Torso with veil, 1985

 

Herb Ritts used a veil in this 1985 photo, but it doesn't really cover up much.

Torsos

Here we have Three Male Torsos from 1986.

 

Tony

Who knew a huge rope could be so sensuous?

This is Tony with a Rope, Los Angeles 1986.

 

Sphere

Man with a Sphere is from 1989.

 

Paul

Herb Ritts did a photo shoot at El Mirage Dry Lake in 1985 in which some of the shots were done

 with the models coated in clay from the mud flats.  This is Paul, Rear View.

 

Unnamed, 1989

This unnamed piece from 1989 is one of my favorites of the day.

 

Bubble Muscle

Our last Herb Ritts photograph of the set is Bubble Muscle from 1987.  Although I get 

a faint whiff of steroids from the model's thighs, it's still a work of art.

 

"New" material from Lon of New York

Classic era physique photos have been increasingly showing up on online auction and estate sales.  I think this may be due to the fact that many of the original owners have passed on, and their heirs are realing that the collections are worth quite a bit.  Today I'm posting ten images by Lon of New York, aka Alonzo Hanagan, that I found via such venues.  All are "new," to me at least.  We start with the cover of a Reed Massengill edited compilation of Lon's work.  Leave it to Mr. Massengill to use an image that isn't commonly seen.  The man is good, very good.

 

George Paine

I was pleased to find this amazing derriere shot of George Paine (sometimes spelled Payne)

 in a lot of 36 Lon Hanagan photos in an online estate sale.

 

Melvin Wells?

Not one, but two, vintage resale sites identified this Lon model as Melvin Wells.  The problem?  

I have more than one other photo labeled as him that doesn't quite look like this to me. 

 I'll put one of those below.  See what you think.

 

Unknown

This photo of a lightly oiled model came with no info,

but it was not in my extensive Lon of New York collection.

 

Marvin Eder and Artie Zeller

There are three or four photos in circulation from Lon's photo shoot with Marvin Eder 

and Artie Zeller, but this was not previoulsy among them.  It confuses me because the sea 

grass floor mat looks like a prop Bruce of LA used on a frequent basis.  I suppose they 

made more than one of those, though.  If it is indeed from Lon, it is the only shot

 of these two without a posing strap, at least that I've seen.

 

Fred Regan

Lon's staging skill is on full display in this photo of Fred Regan.

The settee almost seamlessly fades into the background,

and the lighting makes Fred seem like he's floating.

 

Raul?

No one seems to have an ID on this model, but my theory is that it is Raul Pacheco, a guy who had put on a lot of weight when he did a reprise photo session with Lon late in his career.

 

Tommy Hume

I don't know if the black upper right corner is from the original photo or from some alteration along the way, but I was pleased to find this picture of Tommy Hume that I hadn't seen before.

 

Johnnie Clark

Both a vintage photo auction and an old time bodybuilder website IDed this model as Johnnie Clark and the photo as by Lon.  I can't find this guy anywhere else, but I love the picture.

 

Last, but not least

This is the image that started my most recent collecting binge of Lon Hanagan's work.

The unknown model looks familiar but isn't named anywhere I can find.

 

PaJaMa at Fire Island

Fire Island was a favorite hangout of the PaJaMa Collective made up of Paul Cadmus, Jared French, and Margaret Hoening French.  Their very complicated relationship(s) intersected with several others in this legendary location.  We start the set with a solo shot of Donald Windham from 1938.

 

Three models

These three models who had their shorts on when the 1950 photo was made are Jensen Yow, 

Jack Fontan, and Bill Harris, all of whom also modeled for George Platt Lynes.

The hazy look makes me think of the mists of time.

 

The gang's all here

This 1950 photo features (l-r) George Platt Lynes, 

Glenway Westcott, Jared French and Paul Cadmus.

 

Jared and Paul 1939

Paul Cadmus was never as eager to pose fully nude as Jared French.  This shot of him in profile on the beach at Fire Island in 1939 is about as much of a package view as we ever get.

 

Jack Fontan

 

One of the PaJaMa group captured this interesting shot of Jack Fontan on Fire Island in 1950.

George and Jared

An authenticated original print of this rather fine photo 

of George Platt Lynes and Jared French recently sold for $2,500.

 

Jared and the Lighthouse

Although PaJaMa was a collective, that was mainly in the arena of photography.  The three members paintings and drawings were so distinctively different that they were presented 

individually.  And even in the realm of photography, we can sometimes make out 

individual works and styles.  Most of the PaJaMa Fire Island nudes with Jared French 

as the model are thought to be the work of his wife Margaret Hoening French.

 

Margaret Hoening French

Although her painting work is generally eclipsed by that of her husband Jared French and 

PaJaMa partner Paul Cadmus, Margaret Hoening French was a fairly accomplished artist.  

This Fire Island inspired piece is called The Moon by Day, and it was done in 1938.

Enlarge it if you can, and you will see some nice details.

 

Donald Windham II

Here is another view of Donald Windham from 1938.

 

1945 Jared and Paul

Our final PaJaMa Fire Island image shows Paul Cadmus 

pulling in a net with Jared French in it from 1945.

 

Early 20th Century

It should come as no surprise that my favorite period of male nude photography is 1875-1925.  I never seem to get tired of finding and posting material from that stretch. The technology of photography had advanced by 1875 to a level that allowed real artistry to come through, and the subjects were still fresh and lacking the crassness that set in in the middle of the 20th Century.  Today we focus on the 1900-1925 span, starting with a man with a discus.

 

Medicine Ball

Here we have a skinny guy with a medicine ball in what may be a snapshot.

 

Koch

I'm pretty sure this one is part of Koch's Freilicht series, but I could be wrong.

I've been wrong lots and lots of times.

 

Ring toss

The fellow about to toss the ring here looks familiar, but I can't quite place him.

 

Charmer

I've always found this picture of four men an their picket fence to be charming.

Looks like they've left their pants hanging out to dry behind them.

 

Grapplers

I wish I knew more about this great photo of two wrestlers.

 

Swimmer

I can't tell if this guy is standing on a rocky lakeshore or beside a flooded quarry.

 

Trio

The various poses of this early 20th Century trio are always popular in these parts.

 

Well built

This one is a mystery, with no attribution, but the model 

is well built and the Rodin influence is clear.