BigKugels
PHOTOGRAPHIC
SINCE 1998
Our Extensive Collection
Championing the power and history of analog vintage male nude photographs since 1998. Offering collectors an extensive inventory of original works from the 19th and 20th Century.
Championing the power and history of analog vintage male nude photographs since 1998. Offering collectors an extensive inventory of original works from the 19th and 20th Century.
Spanning more than a century.
Spanning more than a century.
There is magic in the artistry and experimentation of photographers who created nude and erotic imagery more than a century ago. From the camera's invention in the 1800s, whether in early academic studies, covert erotica, Turn-of-the-Century strongmen, or European naturist and military snapshots, our ancestors' quizzical relationships to male affection, nudity, and the camera couldn't seem more different from our own. And the surviving delicate albumin and gelatin prints, cabinet cards and postcards are windows into their inhibition and invention. Learn more about early male nude photography.
20th Century Fine Art Nudes and Beefcake
New York and Southern California strongly influenced the 20th Century's definition of male beauty from Broadways heyday to the introduction of Hollywood "Stardom" to the birth of modern bodybuilding on Venice Beach. Photographers like Edwin Townsend in the 1930s, Bruce of Los Angeles in the 1950s, and Jim French of Colt Studio in the 1970s shaped the preferences of gay men and popular culture, building upon one another's work, capturing the tastes of the moment, and pushing the boundaries of public acceptance. Read more about 20th Century fine art nudes and "beefcake" photography.
New York and Southern California strongly influenced the 20th Century's definition of male beauty from Broadways heyday to the introduction of Hollywood "Stardom" to the birth of modern bodybuilding on Venice Beach. Photographers like Edwin Townsend in the 1930s, Bruce of Los Angeles in the 1950s, and Jim French of Colt Studio in the 1970s shaped the preferences of gay men and popular culture, building upon one another's work, capturing the tastes of the moment, and pushing the boundaries of public acceptance. Read more about 20th Century fine art nudes and "beefcake" photography.
Exclusive Collections
BigKugels Photographic has acquired extensive collections, with negatives and exclusive reproduction rights for the estates of select important 20th Century photographers, including:
- Danny Fitzgerald and Les Demi Dieux
- Dave Martin of San Francisco
- Filmographer and sculptor James E. Davis
- LGBTQ historian and photography dealer Carl Morse.
- Washington DC Councilman Jim Graham.
Brooklyn Boys: the photography of Danny Fitzgerald and Les Demi Dieux
Our book Brooklyn Boys chronicles the photographs Danny Fitzgerald produced with his partner and muse Richard Bennett under the studio name "Les Demi Dieux." We welcome inquiries from publishers and the press. Leanr more about Danny Fitzgerald and Les Demi Dieux. Find our book Brooklyn Boys on Amazon.
For nearly a quarter century, BigKugels photographic's collection has represented the original work of over a hundred photographers and artists from the 19th and 20th Century, and included hundreds of the most sought after models and subjects. We provide here an index of photographers, artists, and models that have been in our collection, many of which are still represented. Peruse the photographers, artists, and models indexes.