Smithsonian

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

Romaine Brooks was both an artist and patron of the arts. In this 1923 self-portrait, she depicts herself in hyper-masculine clothing. “I think the element of cross-dressing has had an appeal in the lesbian community,” Ward says. “Brooks abandons a stereotypically female look for a combination of items that would signal how she was crossing gender and sexual lines.”

Self Portrait by Romaine Brooks. National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution

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