Petite histoire de l'art queer: Chefs-d'oeuvre, Mouvements, Thèmes

by Dawn Hoskin

The Short Story of Queer Art offers a fuller picture of the history of art - from the barriers broken and breakthroughs that queer artists have made, to the important contributions to key artistic movements, and the forgotten and obscured artists who are now being rediscovered and reassessed.

Simply constructed, the book explores over 40 key works and artists, from across the world and throughout art history, and links them to the most important movements, themes and breakthroughs. An eclectic range of art is featured, including Aubrey Beardsley's The Peacock Skirt, Frida Kahlo's Self-portrait with Cropped Hair, Cecil Beaton's Stephen Tennant in Costume as Prince Charming and Tamara de Lempicka's Autoportrait.

Accessible, concise and richly illustrated, the book reveals the connections between different periods, artists and styles, giving readers a thorough understanding and broad enjoyment of the full achievements that queer artists have made with genres that include Classical art, Art Nouveau, Pop art, Street art and Video installations.

Genres: Nonfiction, Queer, Art History, LGBT, Art, History

224 pages, Paperback

Published September 3, 2025

Reviews

[Xeftis · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'ai beaucoup aimé la sélection d'œuvres et les images (en couleur !) que ce livre propose. Je pense que l'utilité de ce livre (même si je n'aime pas particulièrement parler d'utilité) repose dans son caractère encyclopédique. C'est-à-dire qu'il est facile de retrouver un nom, une œuvre, un courant, des concepts en se servant de l'index ou simplement en le feuilletant et d'avoir rapidement une idée de l'histoire, du contexte et des personnes qui les entourent.
J'ai parfois eu l'impression que les textes étaient vagues et que la vraie substance faisait défaut. C'est à cause de leur concision que je peux difficilement leur reprocher : c'est en effet le résultat logique d'un livre structuré comme celui-ci. Certaines choses sont répétées dans plusieurs textes à différents endroits du livre, ce qui m'a légèrement gêné.
La plus grande qualité de ce livre est de m'avoir fait découvrir pas mal de noms d'artistes et d'œuvres et de m'avoir donné l'envie d'en apprendre plus sur elleux.
J'admire aussi la traduction française qui n'a pas eu peur d'utiliser le pronom « iel ».

[Nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will cut off my head before I read my class readings on time.

[Elise Belleville · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolument magistral en terme de références, de culture, de devellopement et je me suis sentie émue et intriguée par tant de noms que j'ignorais !

[Julia w · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like these book series. This is a great introduction to art history through a more engaging perspective

[Lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

short, informative, intersectional.
wished there would've been more visual media in there instead of the same pictures in different sections, but ultimately that lead to more connections between the different sections.
amazing to get into different themes/artists more.
laurence king publisher is lowkey so based.

[Thales Baruffi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uma belo testamento introdutório da arte e da História daqueles que tiverem que, muitas vezes, lutar para existir como nasceram para ser.
Li em blocos, pesquisando sobre os artistas e movimentos que mais me cativaram, foram meses de leitura entrecortada, meu modo de esticar e o passeio.

[Tutankhamun18 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this perspective on art and art movements and discovered some cool (new to me) artists including:
• Zanele Muholi
• Marie Laurecin
• Felix Gonzalez-Torres

Great starting point for a queer lens on art history! I particularly liked the section on art movements and on individual art works.

[juno · Rating 3 out of 5]

two too many nazi sympathisers

[Fleur Schipper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute & exquisite overview of queer art!

[juliette · Rating 5 out of 5]

took so many notes, can’t wait to discover more from them!!!

[Renee Brazeau · Rating 5 out of 5]

A digestible overview of historical queer art over past years, decades and centuries. A book I wish I had access to 10 years ago in art school. Nicely designed, good hand feel, perfect mix of images and textual description. Also found out there is an English version (The Short Story of Queer Art ), which I’ll have to get my hands on!!