Classical Art

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Lesbian Art FAQ

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Isle of Lesbos : Classical Art : FAQ

Frequently-Asked Questions
about the Lesbian Art Pages

The sketches and paintings shown here address the tenderness of feminine interaction in a range of circumstances, from friendship to courtship to sensual entwinement.

I do not claim that all of the images represent lesbian relationships. They do not. But I am including them here, on a lesbian-oriented site, because the images share a distinct appeal to women who focus on relationships with other women. For many lesbians, our orientation is not solely about sexuality, but also about a deep and abiding appreciation of all strong bonds between women. Art that celebrates those bonds, whether it clearly describes the nature of the bond or leaves it up to the viewer, is captivating.

You'll note that this site features only a couple of women artists (Marie Laurencin and Ida Teichmann). This is not a deliberate under representation-- I've had a hard time finding lesbian images created by women before the 20th century (or very early 20th century). If you know of a work I should include, send me email and tell me about it.

For your convenience, I've addressed a number of commonly-asked questions about these pages:

Are you saying that the women artists are lesbians? Are you saying that the male artists were painting lesbians?

No. I'm saying that these images may appeal to lesbians, or that they are significant in some way. A few of these images are indeed of women engaged in lesbian relationships (for example, see Toulouse-Lautrec's work).

Would you add my art to your web site?

I'm sorry, no. I'm not able to devote time to updating this site, and so I am not planning to add more work. I'm also keeping the focus strictly historical. If you know of a web site that features contemporary work of lesbian artists, tell me about it and I will add a link to the resource list.

Why don't you include the work of Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, or Tamara de Lempicka in your collection?

These works are still under copyright and I cannot include them without establishing a licensing agreement. Bummer, man.

Why don't you include other works of the artists that you have on the site?

I'm keeping the focus to images that depict relationships between women, because otherwise this site would be completely unwieldly for me. Most artists included here have created many other amazing works of art, some for which they are better known. If you'd like to find more work by an artist, I recommend you search on the artist's name using a search engine such as Google.