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LGBTQ+ | Ronald Wright
Ronald Wright (1928 – 2020)
Ronald Wright was a pioneering illustrator, submitting work in the 1950s to “Men’s interest” magazines. A prison sentence in 1961 ended his career in print, but he continued to sell images around the world by mail order. After prison, when no gay magazine dared hire him, Ron reinvented himself as London’s leading life model, a cabaret artist, author and became a noted spiritualist healer. A fabulous storyteller, Ron spent his final decades, both delighting and educating younger generations with stories of his experiences and became a sought-after speaker and radio guest. He continued to draw until the end of his life.
Men About The House: The Tilers
Ronald Wright (1928 – 2020)
Pencil and ink on paper, 1950s
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The Men About The House series featured four comic scenes of hapless but beautiful men performing domestic tasks.
The New World
Ronald Wright (1928 – 2020)
Pencil and ink on paper, 1963
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Ron’s answer to the Space Race.
Male Portrait
Ronald Wright (1928 – 2020)
Coloured pencil on paper, 1954
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One of a series of studies of the same model.
The Wrestlers
Ronald Wright (1928 – 2020)
Pencil on paper, 1950s
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Drawings such as this were able to escape the censors due to the focus on “men’s health”.
There’s No Business Like Showbusiness: Cut!
Ronald Wright (1928 – 2020)
Pencil on paper, 1950s
HETFM:2016.165.26
There’s no business like show business was a series of four drawings centred around film, stage and music. The series epitomised Ron’s sense of fun with characters in gently risqué situations.