Smithsonian

Highlights from Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture

In this 1917 canvas, Marsden Hartley memorializes a man he fell in love with, a German soldier named Karl von Freyburg, who was killed during World War I. “Gays and lesbians were particularly attuned to abstraction because of the care with which they had to present themselves in society,” says Ward. “Their lives had to be coded to hide themselves from repressive or hostile forces, yet they also had to leave keys both to assert their identity and to link up with other members of the community.” Von Freyburg’s initials, his age at death his position in the cavalry unit are all cautiously hidden in this abstraction, Painting No. 47, Berlin.

Painting No. 47, Berlin by Marsden Hartley. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

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Photos from: Portrait Gallery's Hide/Seek Uncovers an Intricate Visual History of Gay Relationships »