Three Real-Photo Postcards | Paul Swan: le plus bel homme du monde

Three real-photo postcards representing bisexual American dancer, actor and artist Paul Swan (1883–1972), who performed nearly nude in an aesthetic "Grecian" style inspired by Isadora Duncan. With his pretty face, smoky eyes, tousled dark hair, lithe build, artsy poses and dramatic makeup, Swan was promoted in France as "the most beautiful man in the world." He also appeared in a number of silent films, including The Ten Commandments (1923).

Forced to return to the U.S. with the outbreak of World War II, Swan moved to New York City, where he produced painting and sculpture and kept his once avant-garde dance style alive with weekly recitals for 30 years. Swan had married into money, so he could carry on his aesthetic cult just as he pleased. His long-outdated art came to be cherished by aficionados of camp; one of his performances even is featured in Andy Warhol's 1965 film Camp.

The vintage real-photo postcards offered here portray Swan at the height of his fame in Paris posed against dark studio backdrops: full-length in a skimpy loincloth; waist-length wearing a chiton over one shoulder; and in a close-up wearing a toga and laurel wreath. The unabashedly effeminate performance of masculinity differs markedly from that of the bodybuilders and athletes otherwise prominently featured in images in French popular culture at the time.

NOTE: Toned gelatin silver prints; divided verso imprinted "Fabrication Française"; studio credit on recto: "Dix / Paris." Very slight wear to margins; slight yellowing to versos; all cards unmailed.