Untitled, 1978 - 2024
Tom of Finland (Finnish, born May 8, 1920–died November 7, 1991), born Touko Laaksonen, was an illustrator known for his highly stylized erotic art. Having produced around 3,500 illustrations over the course of four decades, Laaksonen’s work eventually garnered a mainstream appreciation from gay communities in the 1970s. Raised on the south coast of Finland, Laaksonen grew up with an appreciation for art, music, and literature, and in 1939, he traveled to Helsinki to attend art school and study advertising. He began drawing erotic illustrations for his own entertainment; however, he decided to destroy the drawings before joining the Finnish Army in 1940. Having served as a second lieutenant, Laaksonen became intrigued and inspired by men in uniform, and began to depict them in his illustrations. In 1945, Laaksonen left the Army after the war, and returned to his studies in art and advertising. In 1956, Laaksonen submitted some of his own illustrations to the American magazine Physique Pictorial under the pseudonym “Tom.” The magazine editor therefore credited the work to “Tom of Finland,” which then became Laaksonen’s popular handle. In the 1950s and 1960s, the United States censorship codes that prohibited homosexual pornography affected the style and context of Laakonen’s own work; by this time, however, Laaksonen was generating illustrations on the basis of private commission, which provided him with the creative freedom to produce more explicit (albeit unpublished) work. Laaksonen’s iconic imagery has been appropriated by designers, such as Vivienne Westwood, and the fragrance company Etat Libre d’Orange. His work is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and has been exhibited at the Institut Culturel Finlandais in Paris. (via Artnet)