Public Displays of Affection

Public Displays of Affection: Fifty Years of the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art recounts the half-century crusade of an intrepid and foresighted gay couple who, weeks before 1969’s Stonewall riot, kicked off today’s vibrant queer art scene by opening their SoHo loft to exhibit works by queer artists who were contemptuously barred from mainstream galleries and museums. From their private home to a public gallery, then a non-profit foundation, and finally a government charter, the artistic and political passions of Charles Leslie and Fritz Lohman brought forth the world’s only art museum dedicated to the visual expression of LGBTQ lives. 'Public display of affection' usually means couples acting out physical desire in sight of others. But to the founders of New York’s Leslie-Lohman Museum, it meant the public display of pictures celebrating such affection - which risked obscenity charges. Leslie-Lohman’s dramatic evolution has mirrored broader cultural and social progress, and the Museum continues to play a vital role in promoting the visibility of queer images.