Finding aid to the John Button Nude Male Drawings, 1966-1976 Coll2013.015
Finding aid prepared by Jeff Snapp
Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
(c) 2013
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, California, 90007
(213) 741-0094
askone@ONEarchives.org
Title: John Button nude male drawings
Identifier/Call Number: Coll2013.015
Contributing Institution:
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
1.5 linear feet.
1 flat archive box
Date (inclusive): 1966-1976
Abstract: The collection consists of drawings of nude men made by John Button in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Button's nude drawings
are documents of his connections with gay culture which included his presence in the initial stages of the Mattachine Society
and the formation of ONE Incorporated.
creator:
Button, John, 1929-1982
The collection consists of 45 drawings of nude men made by John Button from 1966-1976. The subjects are identified as studio
models from the School of Visual Arts as well as personal acquaintances.
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.
The date and method of acquisition are not documented.
[Box/folder #, or item name] John Button Nude Male Drawings, Coll2013.015, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, USC Libraries,
University of Southern California.
Formerly housed in box A134. Collection processed by Jeff Snapp, 2013.
Related Archival Materials note
Additional biographical and exhibition information can be found in the "Button (John)" file in the ONE Subject File collection,
Coll2012-001, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.
Additional archival materials relating to John Button can be found at the New York Public Library, the Archives of American
Art at the Smithsonian, and the University of California, San Diego.
John Button was born in San Francisco in 1929. He attended the University of California, Berkeley, and later taught in Pennsylvania,
Maine, Maryland and New York. Button and his partner Alvin Novak were involved in the early years of the Mattachine Society
and contributed to the formation of ONE Incorporated. However, Button is best known as a Neo-Romantic Realist, "urban intimist,"
prize-winning painter. He is associated with the New York School of painters and poets, known for his treatment of light in
paintings, with urban architectural elements contrasting with large areas of clouded skies. In addition to his works belonging
to many museum collections, he also created a large political mural, since destroyed by fire, with Mario Dubsky for the Gay
Activist Alliance Firehouse in Manhattan.
Lesser known for his drawings of male nudes, Button proposed a "frankly homosexual" show in 1972 as well as an exhibition
titled
The Male Nude at Hofstra University in 1973. Posthumous exhibitions include
The Body as Landscape exhibition at ONE Archives circa 2002 and
John Button/ Paintings and Drawings from the Estate at ClampArt in New York City, 2007-2008.
John Button died in New York City in 1982.
Sources:
John Button Drawings, Coll2013-015, ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California
Button, John.
John Button: An American Painter. Kean College; Union, NJ, 1984.
www.artnet.comhttp://www.artnet.com/artists/john-button (accessed May 2013)
http://clampart.com/2012/02/john-button-1929-1982 (accessed May 2013)
http://www.johnbuttonartist.com/ (accessed May 2013)
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the ONE Archivist. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives at USC Libraries as the owner of the physical
items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Artists
Drawings (visual works)
Gay artists--United States
Gays--Exhibitions
Homosexuality and art--United States
John Button nude male drawings 1967-1976
Box 1, Folder 1
Drawings, nude males 1966-1976