Gay of finland

Tom of Finland (Touko Laaksonen, 1920–1991) is widely regarded as one of the twentieth century’s most influential artists for his groundbreaking advocacy of the male figure. In his youth, Tom trained at an advertising school, but what he would approach to call his “dirty drawings,” which he first began developing as a teenager, were the true focus of his attention, both during this formative period and throughout the entirety of his life. These masterful renderings of virile men engrossed in acts of homoerotic desire can be approached along several interpretative lines—art historical, social, technical—but each of them points to the revolutionary nature of his project. A master draftsman, whose passion for both his medium and his subject matter enabled him to become a forceful cultural force, Tom gave form to an imaginative existence that in shift helped fuel real-world liberation movements and enabled gay men to access their strength in fresh ways. Tom's drawings reaffirm the centrality of sexuality, delight, and the body in all areas of human endeavor.

Tom of Finland has been the subject of numerous solo and two-person exhibitions across the