George Platt Lynes was lauded as one the world’s top commercial photographers in the first half of the 20th century, known for his portraits of important cultural figures, surreal fashion shoots and innovative use of lighting and evocative sets. However, in an era when homosexuality was considered a crime, Lynes had to keep secret his best work: erotic nude photographs of men.
Born in 1907 in New Jersey, Lynes attended the Berkshire School in Sheffield, Massachusetts, graduating in 1925. In his youth, Lynes had dreamed of becoming a writer. He published a literary journal and opened a bookstore, both of which were unsuccessful. When he inherited a trove of photographic equipment from a friend, Lynes turned his focus toward a career in photography.
Self-taught, Lynes proved to be a gifted talent behind the camera. His preternatural understanding of the interplay between light, shadow and form garnered critical acclaim. In 1932, Lynes had his first solo exhibition, at Leggett Gallery, followed by a two-artist show with photographer Walker Evans at Julien Levy Gallery. By 1933, Lynes became a central figure in New York photography, whose stylized technique was sought by magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar, Town & Country and Vogue.
In 1935, the American Ballet Company (now the New York City Ballet) commissioned Lynes to photograph their principal dancers and performances, leading to Lynes’s appointment as the company’s primary photographer for the next 20 years.
While Lynes enjoyed immense success as a fashion and commercial photographer from the 1930s to the 1950s, he was secretly photographing male nudes — a subject considered highly taboo at the time. Fearing criminal reprisal, Lynes hid the photos and his sexual orientation from the public, sharing his work with a few select friends. Among them was Dr. Alfred Kinsey, founder of the Kinsey Institute, who, in the late 1940s, was researching human sexuality. Enthralled by Lynes’s figurative, black and white photos of the male form, Kinsey purchased more than 600 prints and several hundred negatives at the risk of prosecution.
After he was diagnosed with lung cancer, in 1955, Lynes destroyed many of his negatives and prints. However, he entrusted a sizeable volume of his male nudes to the Kinsey Institute, which today holds the largest collection of Lynes’s works, second only to the Lynes estate. In 2019, an exhibition of images culled from the Kinsey collection, “Sensual/Sexual/Social: The Photography of George Platt Lynes,” was held at the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields.
Long after his death, Lynes’s legacy has shaped the evolution of sexual and gender norms. His works are highly sought by galleries and collectors of modern and contemporary photography.
On 1stDibs, discover a range of George Platt Lynes photography.
Portrait of Toumanova
By George Platt Lynes
Located in New York, NY
1938 Studio stamp, verso Vintage gelatin silver print 9 x 7 inches This work is offered by CLAMP in New York City.
Silver Gelatin
Tamara Toumanova
By George Platt Lynes
Located in New York, NY
Paul Cadmus Collection stamp in black ink, verso; Jon Anderson Collection stamp in black ink, verso This work is made available by CLAMP in New York City.
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Portrait of an Older Woman
By George Platt Lynes
Located in New York, NY
Portrait of an Older Woman Studio stamp in black ink, verso Gelatin silver print 10 x 8 inches (25.4 x 20.3 cm) Contact gallery for price. This work is o...
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Chuck Howard in a Body Suit
By George Platt Lynes
Located in New York, NY
Chuck Howard in a Body Suit 1950 Studio stamp in black ink, verso Vintage gelatin silver print 9.5 x 7.4375 inches (24.1 x 18.9 cm) Contact gallery fo...
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Bill Miller
By George Platt Lynes
Located in New York, NY
Bill Miller Titled in pencil, verso; Also stamped “George Platt Lynes” in black ink, verso; stamped “Collection of Paul Cadmus” in black ink, verso; Stampe...
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Donald Windham
By George Platt Lynes
Located in New York, NY
Titled in ink, verso; Stamped Collection of Jon Anderson stamp, Collection of Paul Cadmus, verso Contact gallery for price This work is offered by Clamp...
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Alexander Jensen Yow Leaning on Bed
By George Platt Lynes
Located in New York, NY
Studio stamp in black ink, verso George Platt Lynes's affectionate nickname for Yow was "Pooza." Contact gallery for price This work is offered by ClampArt in New York City.
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Romaine Johnston
By George Platt Lynes
Located in New York, NY
Vintage gelatin silver print Stamped, verso This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. George Platt Lynes (1907-1955) was a renowned American fashion and commercial photographer who enjoyed the prime of his career during the 1930s and 1940s. Although he was very sought after by major fashion publications for his beautiful images and stunning compositions, his real passion was the male...
Silver Gelatin
Price Upon Request
Mel Fillini #2
By George Platt Lynes
Located in New York, NY
Vintage gelatin silver print George Platt Lynes studio stamp in black ink, verso Literature: Crump, James. George Platt Lynes: Photographs from the Kinsey Institute. 1st ed., New York City, Bullfinch Press, 1993, pp. 65-67 [three other examples] This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. George Platt Lynes (1907-1955) was a renowned American fashion and commercial photographer who enjoyed the prime of his career during the 1930s and 1940s. Although he was very sought after by major fashion publications for his beautiful images and stunning compositions, his real passion was the male...
Silver Gelatin
Ted Higby at Skyline Rodeo, 1928
By Lora Webb Nichols
Located in New York, NY
Listing includes framing with UV plexiglas, free shipping and a 14 day return policy. Ted Higby at Skyline Rodeo, 1928 15 x 12 inch gelatin silver print Image Size: 14 x 8.5 inches Frame size: 22.5 x 17.5 x 2 inches Edition of 15 Lora Webb Nichols was born in 1883 and grew up in the small mining town of Encampment, Wyoming. At the age of 16 Lora received her first camera and from that moment and for the next few decades she produced work that is both stunning in its singular voice and revealing in the world it opens up for us. At first Nichols photographed her family, friends, and the landscape around Encampment, but when the town experienced a copper mining boom Nichols expanded her scope to become a photographer for hire shooting portraits and industrial photographs. When the boom collapsed, Nichols took the risk of opening her own business in Encampment - The Rocky Mountain Studio - which opened in 1925. The studio ran for ten years, accumulating 24,000 negatives that illustrate the lives and environment of the people living in and around the town while creating a distinctive and surprising body of work. If one was to attempt an analogy – Nichols’ pictures fit somewhere between Lartigue and Lange - joyful and generous while objectively intimate. In particular what seems to distinguish Nichols’ work is the way she sees the world from a female perspective. As Vince Aletti...
Silver Gelatin
Untitled Portrait
By Seydou Keïta
Located in New York, NY
Listing includes framing with UV Plexi ($900 value), free shipping, and a 14-day return policy. Seydou Keïta Untitled Portrait, 1952 - 1955 (02158) 23...
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
Bea with a whip at The Other Side
By Nan Goldin
Located in New York, NY
Nan Goldin Bea with a whip at The Other Side 1973 Gelatin silver print 14 x 11 inches; 36 x 28 cm Edition of 100 Signed, titled, dated, and numbered in graphite (lower right verso) ...
Silver Gelatin
$4,000
H 24 in W 20 in
Kate Moss During a Night Out, 2007 Silver Gelatin Print, Signed, 24x20
By Greg Brennan
Located in New York, NY
Kate Moss is photographed during a night out at the Donmar Warehouse in Covent Garden in London on the 16th of January in 2007. The British supermodel and businesswoman rose to fame ...
Silver Gelatin
$1,365
H 8.15 in W 10.01 in D 0.02 in
The Beatles, Office, Black and White Photography, 20, 7 x 25, 4 cm
Located in Cologne, DE
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With a line-up comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they are regarded as the mo...
Silver Gelatin
Going Home
By Earlie Hudnall Jr.
Located in Denton, TX
Gelatin silver print Paper size: 20 x 16 in., Image size: 18 3/4 x 15 in. Signed, titled, and dated by Earlie Hudnall, Jr. Earlie Hudnall, who is one of the most notable African Ame...
Silver Gelatin
$512
H 6.46 in W 8.47 in D 0.02 in
Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jean) as little child, ca. 1927, 16, 4 x 21, 5 cm
Located in Cologne, DE
Norma Jeane Mortenson or better known as Marilyn Monroe – iconic, beautiful and maybe the most known Hollywood Stars of the 20th century. Born and raised in Los Angeles, USA, she spe...
Silver Gelatin, Black and White
Mr. Shine, 3rd Ward, Houston, Texas
By Earlie Hudnall Jr.
Located in Denton, TX
Gelatin silver print Paper size: 20 x 16 in., Image size: 19 x 12 3/4 in. Signed, titled, and dated in pencil on print verso by Earlie Hudnall, Jr. Earlie Hudnall, who is one of the...
Silver Gelatin
Vintage Portrait Photograph - Depth
Located in Houston, TX
Silver gelatin photograph of a close up superimposed portraits by photographer Layet, circa 1950. Original artwork on paper displayed on a white mat with a gold border. Archival pl...
Paper, Silver Gelatin
Just Like Me
By Earlie Hudnall Jr.
Located in Denton, TX
Signed and titled. Paper size: 20 x 16 in. Image size: 19 x 13 3/4 in. Earlie Hudnall, who is one of the most notable African American photographers living today, has extensively...
Silver Gelatin
$1,365
H 8.15 in W 10.01 in D 0.02 in
The Beatles, Office, Black and White Photography, 20, 7 x 25, 4 cm
Located in Cologne, DE
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With a line-up comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they are regarded as the mo...
Silver Gelatin
$1,365
H 10.01 in W 8.15 in D 0.02 in
The Beatles, Office, Black and White Photography, 25, 4 x 20, 7 cm
Located in Cologne, DE
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With a line-up comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they are regarded as the mo...
Silver Gelatin
$400
H 10 in W 8 in D 0.07 in
Bette Davis - George Hurrell Hollywood Photograph Vintage 1940
By George Hurrell
Located in Glenford, NY
Bette Davis iconic portrait by famed Hollywood art photographer George Hurrell from 1940. It is stamped on the verso with authentic Hurrell identification. This is a original mint ...
Silver Gelatin
Classic Boy
By Earlie Hudnall Jr.
Located in Denton, TX
No Edition Signed, titled, and dated in pencil on print verso by Earlie Hudnall, Jr. Vintage gelatin silver print 14 x 11 in. Earlie Hudnall, who is one of the most notable African ...
Silver Gelatin
$1,365
H 7.13 in W 8.98 in D 0.01 in
John Lennon and Yoko Ono, Black and White Photography, 1970s, 18, 1 x 22, 8 cm
Located in Cologne, DE
The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. With a line-up comprising John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr, they are regarded as the mo...
Black and White, Silver Gelatin
Jack Fontan in Doorway
By George Platt Lynes
Located in New York, NY
Jack Fontan in Doorway c. 1954 George Platt Lynes studio stamp in black ink, verso Gelatin silver print 9 x 7 inches (22.9 x 17.8 cm) This work is offe...
Silver Gelatin
Viktor Kraft
By George Platt Lynes
Located in New York, NY
Signed, titled and dated in ink and stamped with photographer's credit (verso); credited, titled and dated on affixed exhibition labels (frame backing board) Contact gallery for pri...
Silver Gelatin
Katherine Anne Porter
By George Platt Lynes
Located in New York, NY
Paul Cadmus Collection stamp in black ink, verso; John Anderson Collection stamp in black ink, verso This work is made available by ClampArt in New York City.
Silver Gelatin
Charles 'Tex' Smutney and Charles 'Buddy' Stanley I
By George Platt Lynes
Located in New York, NY
Vintage silver print George Platt Lynes studio stamp in blue ink, verso Literature: Leddick, David. George Platt Lynes. Edited by Anatole Pohorilenko, Köln, Taschen, 2000, p. 141, ...
Black and White
Portrait of Monroe Wheeler
By George Platt Lynes
Located in New York, NY
Vintage gelatin silver print Inscribed in black ink, verso This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. George Platt Lynes (1907-1955) was a renowned American fas...
Silver Gelatin
Monroe Wheeler
By George Platt Lynes
Located in New York, NY
Vintage gelatin silver print Stamped, verso This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. George Platt Lynes (1907-1955) was a renowned American fashion and commer...
Silver Gelatin
Mel Fillini #1
By George Platt Lynes
Located in New York, NY
Vintage gelatin silver print George Platt Lynes studio stamp in black ink, verso Literature: Crump, James. George Platt Lynes: Photographs from the Kinsey Institute. 1st ed., New York City, Bullfinch Press, 1993, pp. 65-67 [three other examples] This artwork is offered by ClampArt, located in New York City. George Platt Lynes (1907-1955) was a renowned American fashion and commercial photographer who enjoyed the prime of his career during the 1930s and 1940s. Although he was very sought after by major fashion publications for his beautiful images and stunning compositions, his real passion was the male...
Silver Gelatin