ARTIST

(1933-2022)

James Bidgood Resume

A stylistic precursor of Steven Arnold, Pierre et Gilles, and David La Chapelle, James Bidgood revolutionized gay male erotic imagery. Bidgood was the first to take the pulp and glamour aesthetic of the 1940s and 50s and apply it to male erotic fantasies.

From a midtown tenement during the 1960s, Bidgood completed the bulk of his creative output of photographs using vibrant colors and exaggerated props and costumes to celebrate homosexuality. His works were first published in underground magazines, and he was also the anonymous filmmaker of “Pink Narcissus” (1971), an explosion of colorful eroticism that has stood the test of time.

Series

James Bidgood photograph of Apache played by model Tommy Coombs standing by a lamppost in pink light in front of the Eiffel tower and blue sky
Photographs from the 1960s

Photographs from James Bidgood’s Hell’s Kitchen apartment in the 60s with vibrant colors, exaggerated props and costumes all celebrate the male form

A photograph by James Bidgood of two men lying next to each other, one staring at the other, and the other staring into space
Vintage Prints

Vintage prints by James Bidgood that the artist advertised for sale in the pages of physique magazines in the 1960s.

Exhibitions

A Color Photograph by James Bidgood from the 1960s of a pretty boy named Bobby Kendall lying in bed with pink and purple hues
Unseen Bidgood: A Memorial Exhibition

“Unseen Bidgood: A Memorial Exhibition,” presented by ClampArt with16 previously unexhibited photographs from the archive of James Bidgood’s career.

Photograph by James Bidgood of Bobby Kendall in front of a set of a painted forest, dressed as Pan and bathed in vibrant green and purple light.
Photographs from the 1960s

ClampArt exhibit “James Bidgood: Photographs from the 1960s” a collection of photographs which with vibrant colors and exaggerated props and costumes

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