TOM OF FINLAND RETROSPEKTIVE (1994) Poster

Berlin: Schwules Museum, 1994. Vintage original 23 x 16″ (59 x 41 cm.) poster,  Germany. Unfolded, FINE.

Poster for a retrospective exhibition of artist and illustrator Tom of Finland at Berlin’s Schwules Museum (Gay Museum) which, at the time of its founding in 1985, was the world’s first museum devoted to LGBTQ history.

Touko Valio Laaksonen (1920-1991), Finnish artist known under the pseudonym Tom of Finland, was known for his stylized, hyper-masculine homoerotic art. This appears to have been the first museum exhibit ever devoted to his work, which had an enormous influence on late-twentieth century gay male culture.