Queer Lens: The Getty Museum Exhibit We All Need Right Now

In all my years visiting Los Angeles’ Getty Museum, I’ve never experienced the kind of electricity I felt this time on the tram that takes you to it. Conversations buzzed in anticipation of the exhibition “Queer Lens: A History of Photography.” When the tram doors opened and the crowd caught sight of the museum’s front steps painted in rainbow stripes with the words “CELEBRATE LOVE” sweeping across them, some visitors broke down in tears.

That moment was only the prologue to the emotional and celebratory wallop that this groundbreaking exhibition provides. Opening at a time when LGBTQ+ rights are increasingly under attack, “Queer Lens” can’t come at a better time.

I interviewed the exhibition’s curator, Paul Martineau, who is aware of its importance:

“This show tells a powerful story of queer resilience and power. I am really happy with the support I received from the Getty, from its conception to installation. It is wonderful how they redesigned the steps because that is a clear message for everyone, not just the queer community, that this museum is a refuge for people, a protected space.”

On view through September 28, 2025, “Queer Lens” is the first major exhibition in the U.S. to explore the full sweep of photographic history through a distinctly queer perspective. Featuring more than 270 works by 157 photographers, it spans from the mid-19th century to the present, tracing how photography has documented, shaped, and amplified the complex narratives of gender, sexuality, and self-expression.

The immediacy and accessibility of photography made it a vital tool for marginalized voices, fostering the emergence of homosocial, homoerotic, and openly homosexual imagery long before mainstream culture dared to acknowledge it.

These are some highlights of the exhibition, which reveals across eight chronological sections how image-makers challenged norms, carved out spaces for desire and identity, and built a visual archive of queer life that is as defiant as it is beautiful:

1. Homosocial Culture and Romantic Relationships (1810–1868)

In the early 19th century, expressions of intimacy between people of the same gender were socially acceptable. “Boston Marriage” was an accepted term to describe two unmarried women who lived together.

• An 1810s cut-paper silhouette depicts two women facing each other, surrounded by intertwined strands of their hair.
• A portrait of Frances Clayton is an example of one of the hundreds of women who dressed as men to fight during the Civil War.
• A major highlight is the outrageous 1870 portrait of Frederick Park and Ernest Boulton, who performed on stage as Fanny and Stella, causing a commotion when they went on the street dressed as women.

2. Language and Identity (1869–1919)

Karl-Maria Kertbeny was the first to publish the terms “homosexual” and “heterosexual” in 1869. This breakthrough marked the beginning of a division between straight and gay identities.

• Edward Muybridge discreetly tucked a sequence of two women kissing (1887) in his landmark series studying movement.
• A highly transgressive 1891 image by Alice Austen shows herself and two female friends dressed like men. The one in the middle flaunts a phallic racket handle on her crotch.

3. The Pansy Craze (1920–1934)

During the Prohibition era, the “Pansy Craze” helped make female impersonators famous.

• A very rare image by James Van der Zee (1927) shows Black men wearing female attire.
• Celebrated photographers Cecil Beaton and Man Ray appear in drag. Ray, a heterosexual artist, flaunted how cool it was to be “in the know” of modern trends.

4. Hiding in Plain Sight (1935–1949)

Despite intense discrimination, many queer Americans found ways to express their true selves.

• “The Gay Deceiver” (1939) is Weegee’s striking image of a young man in drag being arrested. Instead of being afraid, he smiles and lifts his skirt gleefully—a profound assertion of queer resilience.
• The 1930s and 1940s introduced photo booths and the Polaroid Land Camera, which allowed gay individuals to privately capture moments of intimacy.
• A glorious photo-booth picture of two men kissing is a beautiful, fragile reminder of progress.

5. Rise of the Gay Liberation Movement (1950–1980)

In 1950, the notion that gay people might have infiltrated the U.S. State Department led to the dismissal of some five thousand people.

• The first homophile groups were founded, advocating for gay rights and building community through events and publications.
• Fred W. McDarrah’s 1966 photo “Mattachine Society ‘Sip-In’ Julius’ Bar” shows three gay men challenging a law prohibiting bartenders from serving them.
• The 1969 Stonewall Inn riots sparked an exhilarating revolution.
• Diana Davies’ portrayal of the Gay Liberation March in Times Square and Arthur Tress’s joyful image of the first Gay Pride Parade capture the moment’s energy.

6. The AIDS Crisis (1981–1996)

The 1980s brought the devastating impact of the AIDS crisis, deepening the stigmatization of the gay community.

• “David Kirby on His Deathbed, Ohio” (1990), published in Life Magazine, is the only image of a dying AIDS patient in the exhibition. Martineau placed it in the gallery’s center—unavoidable.
• David Wojnarowicz’s “Buffalo Falling” (1988–1989) is iconic, and I hadn’t realized until now that the photographer’s own face is reflected in the image—a goosebump-inducing moment.

7. Friends of Dorothy

This coded expression enabled gay men to safely identify themselves in public.

• This gallery features over 100 portraits of queer luminaries.
• Martineau wanted this space to feel like a cathedral for the queer community—and it does. Many visitors sit down in awe, realizing they come from a powerful lineage of trailblazers.

8. Things Are Queer (1996–2014) & The Future Is Queer

Spanning from the 1990s to the present, these final sections explore how “queer” was reclaimed as a term of empowerment—and how photography continues to evolve.

• Catherine Opie’s “Self-Portrait/Cutting” (1993) carves a childlike vision of lesbian domesticity into her back—an act of pain and hope.
• Her 2004 image of herself nursing her baby reflects the resilience of queer family life.
• One of the final works is Matias Sauter’s “Christian en el ‘Amor de Calle’,” a stunning AI-generated image of a young man on the brink of adulthood. It hints at how queer identity will be shaped in the digital age.

A Transcendent Experience

The exhilarated expressions of visitors leaving the exhibition prove that it has been a transcendent experience for many.

Paul Martineau’s majestic show makes a compelling case for the Getty being not only the most relevant museum in Los Angeles, but one of the most important beacons for artistic freedom in the U.S.

In this article for the GAY & LESBIAN REVIEW, Ignacio Darnaude reviews the groundbreaking Getty Museum exhibition QUEER LENS: A HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY. For more information and related articles, please check https://glreview.org