Tom of Finland

In 1953 he met the love of his life Veli. Three years later he sent his first drawings to an American body-building magazine. Success was immediate and since his Americans publishers found his name unpronounceable the moniker Tom of Finland was coined. It was not until twenty years later, in 1973, that he had his first exhibition at a gallery in Hamburg where all but one of the exhibited drawings were stolen. Five years later he had a second show in Los Angeles which thereafter became his adopted home.

Since the eighties Tom of Finland's work has been exhibited widely and his numerous uncompromising drawings have claimed a significant role in the representation of gay sexuality and have become key references in the "history" of gay art.

In 1981, after 28 years of companionship his lover Veli died of cancer. In 1986 Tom founded the Tom of Finland Foundation with which he worked untiringly until his death in November 1991.

The Tom of Finland Foundation was formed in 1986 to be a safe haven for art of an erotic nature. Such a sanctuary was necessary because of general discrimination against art of any sort that portrays sexual behaviour, sexual attitudes or is aimed at creating a sexual response.

Ten years later the Foundation is even more necessary with attempts to censor and repress sexual expression steadily on the rise.

The Tom of Finland Foundation strongly believes in the value of erotic art and is working to see it eventually accepted and respected as a valid and important part of artistic expression.

If you want further information please call the Tom of Finland Foundation in Los Angeles,

telephone +1 213 250 16 85 or check out their website
http://www.eroticarts.com
or email tomfound@earthlink.net