Artists - Part 50

Patrick Angus

Patrick Angus (1953-1992) depicted the gay demimonde of the 1980s.  He has been called the Toulouse-Lautrec of Times Square.  Above, a self-portrait.

Growing up in Southern California, Angus decided that realist art was more interesting than the abstract art favored by the art establishment.  This early work, Dejeuner sur l'Herbe, is a parody of Manet's famous Dejeuner sur l'Herbe, which depicts two clothed men and a nude woman having a picnic lunch.  The poses of the men exactly mimic the poses of Manet's figures.

This is one of several portraits of nude subjects in front of Angus' fireplace.

After moving to New York, Angus found his artistic mission portraying the gay subculture there.  Above, A Shower at the Baths, 1984.

In particular, he painted the proceedings at the Gaiety Theatre in Times Square, a gay male burlesque theater and cinema.  Above: My Heart Goes Bang-Bang, 1986.

An untitled painting of a strip show.

Above, Boys Do Fall in Love, 1984.

This backstage view is called Two Dancers in the Changing Room Backstage at the Gaiety, 1991.

An untitled backstage view depicts a world where there's cruising and hustling, but not much love.

But eventually, love finds a way.  Above, The Lovers, 1989.

And there are these sweet boys in an untitled painting.

But Angus kept coming back to the anonymous world of gay strip clubs and cinema.  This is Hanky Panky, 1990.  I think the title is ironic, because there's no hanky-panky going on in the audience – a bunch of lonely guys isolated from each other.

Likewise, in I Get Weak, 1991, the excitement is happening on the screen but not in the audience.

The following year, 1992, Patrick Angus died from complications of AIDS.  His art was largely ignored until the last few years of his life.  On his deathbed, he finally saw the proofs for a book of his paintings that was being published, and he said "This is the happiest day of my life."