For those of us who recognize the antecedents of Bruce Weber and Herb Ritts in the 19th-century works of Thomas Eakins and other visual artists who champion the male form (and particularly in natural settings in various stages of undress), it’s fascinating to come upon Mark Beard’s monograph of Bruce Sargeant.
Ostensibly dedicated to the work of his great-uncle, Bruce Sargeant, a gay painter whose canvases appear inextricably linked to the idealized male forms photographed by Weber, Beard’s tome is ultimately far more than a homage to an overlooked painter.
And while Bruce Sargeant’s work is featured prominently in Abercrombie & Fitch’s flagship stores, thereby evoking an even deeper connection between Bruce Weber and Bruce Sargeant, the truth is that Sargeant exists within the imagination of Mark Beard.
© Bruce Sergeant / Mark Beard
With a foreword by Thomas Sokolowski, Director of the Andy Warhol Museum (and how Andy would’ve enjoyed this literary trompe l’oeil…), Bruce Sargeant and His Circle: Figure and Form is a loving rendering of the life of Sargeant and his circle, including photographs, articles, and letters about his lover, Yip.
This is a life well-examined, with incredible detail and emotion (and arch humor: apparently, Sargeant met his untimely death on the wrestling mat…), all supported by paintings of strapping young, bare-torsoed men in towels, swimsuits, and suspenders, with surfboards and footballs, rowing and reclining in the company of one another.
© Bruce Sergeant / Mark Beard
The paintings represent some of the most idealized homoerotic fantasies in the history of civilization – and very few viewers will be immune to the call. And yet Beard goes beyond Sargeant’s work to show us the influence of Sargeant on the works of those around him – and in so doing, Beard tips his hand, showing us his own virtuosic talents as he plays with several styles of painting over the course of subsequent decades.
Apart from Abercrombie & Fitch, Beard’s work can be found in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum, and the Whitney, as well as numerous other museums and universities around the world. This book is a splendid introduction to a painter whose imaginative skills go well beyond the canvas and deep into the homoerotic psyche. You’ll want this one for the study – and for the bedroom.
