This work may contain sensitive content


Christopher Isherwood with Harvey Young
This black and white photograph presents a formally dressed man in a suit and tie standing beside a classical male nude sculpture against a wooden paneled wall. The composition creates an intriguing juxtaposition between the clothed figure and the idealized nude form, playing with themes of desire, admiration, and the relationship between viewer and viewed. The photograph exemplifies mid twentieth century portrait practice, employing dramatic lighting and spatial arrangement to create psychological tension. As a work by George Platt Lynes, a pioneering photographer known for his intimate documentation of artistic and literary circles, this image reflects the artist's sophisticated engagement with homoerotic imagery and his celebration of male beauty within modernist aesthetic frameworks.
- Medium
- Christopher Isherwood with Harvey Young
- Overall
- Provenance
- The Ashby/Connolly Collection.
- Spotted At
- Auction House · Rago Auctions
Notes
A Ménage with George Platt Lynes, Rago Auctions, 2026-05-01. Lot 163. Inscribed to verso 'MW Christopher Isherwood with Harvey Young' with collector's stamp.
🔨 Auction Lot
A Ménage with George Platt Lynes
May 1, 2026
Estimate: $800 – $1,200
Sold: $3,192
Lot 163
For Sale
More by George Platt Lynes
Collectors with works by George Platt Lynes
Artists in conversation

George Hoyningen-Huene
Russian-American · b. 1900

Hoyningen-Huene worked in the same mid-century fashion photography world as Lynes, producing elegantly composed images for Vogue and Harper's Bazaar that blended classical aesthetic sensibility with surrealist influences and a refined homoerotic undertone in male figure work.

Horst P. Horst
German-American · b. 1906

Horst shared Lynes's circle and aesthetic language, producing surrealist-inflected fashion and figure photography with dramatic sculptural lighting, classical compositional elegance, and a sensual treatment of the male and female form that closely mirrors Lynes's signature style.

Herbert List
German · b. 1903

List produced surrealist-influenced black and white photography of male nudes and classical figures with the same combination of literary sophistication, avant-garde sensibility, and openly homoerotic gaze that defines Lynes's most celebrated work.

Start the Discussion
Request access to join the discussion