Mr Wright

Artist Jimmy Wright moved to New York in 1974 at the age of thirty with a nest egg to get him through life in the big city for two years. He passed his time screwing around, doing odd jobs and making erotic drawings from memory based on what he observed at the bath houses, leather bars and tearooms which were so active back then.

Jimmy’s erotic drawings have never been exhibited publicly, but not for lack of trying. He explains, ‘At the time, the drawings were dismissed as not being art by New York’s only gallery specializing in gay subject matter. The content does not hide behind a curtain of classical figure drawing and idealized beauty — or reassure the viewer that this is only fantasy’.

The folio of hot sketches came out of storage when Chicago gallery Corbett vs. Dempsey showed interest in Jimmy’s early work. These days, he continues to draw and paint — mostly sunflowers — from his home and studio in Freeman Alley downtown.