James Bidgood

James Bidgood is seen as the father of the pulp and glamour aesthetic, yet his photographic works are still scarcely known. He came to New York in 1951, intent on becoming a musical star, and earned his first wages as a drag performer in Manhattan’s legendary Club 82. His “serious” employment as a window dresser, freelance photographer, and costume designer enabled him to collect the material he needed for his own photo shoots, for which he built complex sets—often in his tiny apartment. In his photographs and films, he pays homage to the youthful male body via elaborate stagings of his romantically shimmering visions of a homoerotic paradise. This monograph presents a complete overview of James Bidgood’s influential body of work.