Positioned at something of an angle to art history, Tom of Finland (1920–91) nonetheless counts among the popular artists of the latter 20th century. Through his iconic images, he almost singlehandedly changed the way gay men were perceived by society, and, more importantly, how gay men perceived themselves. The massive oeuvre that he produced over the course of a career spanning nearly six decades is devoted almost entirely to this one topic: men, their bodies and their eroticism. This extraordinary consistency in subject matter was matched by a lifelong passion for the discipline of drawing. And Tom most likely drew every day of his life.
