Paul Swan posing wearing a loincloth. Photographic postcard, 192-.

Date:
[between 1920 and 1929?]
Reference:
2046181i
Part of:
The James Gardiner Collection.
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view Paul Swan posing wearing a loincloth. Photographic postcard, 192-.

In copyright

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Credit

Paul Swan posing wearing a loincloth. Photographic postcard, 192-. In copyright. Source: Wellcome Collection.

About this work

Description

Photograph of Paul Swan wearing sandals, a loincloth and a headband, with a band of dark cloth over his right shoulder.

Publication/Creation

Paris : Dix, [between 1920 and 1929?]

Physical description

1 photographic postcard ; 13.2 x 8.5 cm

Contributors

Lettering

Paul Swan. Le plus bel homme du monde. Paul Swan. We send you the most beautiful man in the world. Please put his photograph before your bed and have nice dreams...(written in blue ink, verso)

Notes

This work is untitled: the title has been supplied by the cataloguer.
The following description was provided by James Gardiner: "Publicity postcard for the American artist Paul Swan (1883-1972). Swan enjoyed a considerable succès-de-scandale in Europe in the 1920s, and was dubbed 'The world's most beautiful man'. This French-published postcard from that period shows him semi-naked and heavily made-up wearing 'Grecian' sandals. Although images like this had an obvious homoerotic charge, it must not be assumed that interest in them was purely homosexual. Paul Swan had a long and interesting life; in later years he was the star of two films by Andy Warhol (Janis and Richard Londraville, The most beautiful man in the world: Paul Swann, from Wilde to Warhol, 2008)."

Reference

Wellcome Collection 2046181i

Type/Technique

Languages

Subjects

Where to find it

  • Unlabelled photograph album

    LocationStatusAccess
    Closed stores

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