This past week, I took an afternoon off and made a short drive to The Huntington to see Don Bachardy: A Life in Portraits, the museum’s stunning exhibition celebrating one of the most prolific and quietly radical queer artists in American history.
With over 100 works on display—spanning more than 70 years of portraiture—the show offers a powerful, deeply personal glimpse into a life lived face-to-face with creativity, community, and love.
Don Bachardy’s subjects are a who’s-who of 20th-century actors and celebrities: Bette Davis, Cecil Beaton, James Baldwin, and so many more.
As fascinating as the famous faces are, it’s the artist’s gaze—his distinctive hand and insistence on presence—that unifies the show. His portraits, all completed in a single sitting, are direct, intimate, and full of personality. They feel alive because they were alive—drawn in real time, in real rooms, with real people.
And then, of course, there was Chris.
Don Bachardy wasn’t just an artist. He was a fanboy first—a shy teenager who fell head over heels for author Christopher Isherwood.
Chris and Don’s love story began in the 1950s, when such relationships were rarely acknowledged, let alone celebrated. But instead of hiding, they built a life filled with openness, honesty, and art.
Chris encouraged Don to pursue painting. Don captured Chris again and again, making his partner one of his most frequent and beloved subjects. Their home became a studio, their love a lifelong portrait session.
While others might measure their relationship in years or milestones, theirs was measured in brushstrokes, sketches, and the quiet power of showing up for each other—again and again.
It’s hard for me to look at a Bachardy portrait and not think of that legacy: queer love not just surviving, but thriving.
The exhibition includes not just portraits but also letters, photographs, and video clips—including an excerpt from the upcoming documentary Face to Face: Don Bachardy by Tina Mascara. Together, these artifacts and ephemera offer a rare and rich look at the intersections of creativity and identity.
As I wandered the galleries, I lingered longest not on the celebrity portraits, but on the tender studies of Isherwood and tense self-portraits of Bachardy. There’s something sacred in them—something earned. You don’t just see the men. You feel their love.
Don Bachardy: A Life in Portraits runs through August 4, 2025, at The Huntington.
If you're anywhere near Los Angeles, go. Not just to admire the art, but to experience the beauty, boldness, and bravery of a life well lived.
Keep calm and make art!
Clint 🌈✌️
P.S. The Huntington’s art collection also includes works by queer artists, including Andy Warhol, Harriet Goodhue Hosmer, Robert Rauschenberg, and more.
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FYC = ART + ARTIST
Tonight, new works from Anthony Hurd’s Lovers + Fighters series, debut at Thinkspace Projects in Los Angeles. I so wish I could be there!
LOVERS + FIGHTERS by Anthony Hurd
June 7, 2025 - June 28, 2025
THINKSPACE PROJECTS
4217 W. Jefferson Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90016
Opening Reception
Saturday, June 7th from 6-10PM
ARTIST STATEMENT
”Lovers + Fighters: We stand, we fight, we love, we survive, we thrive. Diversity is our backbone and livelihood. While far from perfection, we are a community of all walks of life and we have thrived in even the worst of times. In the face of our current administration, we will not falter or flail, we will not cower or run. Our fight comes in many forms as just loving ourselves and each other flies in the face of those who would have us harmed, here we stand regardless. This show is my love letter to our communities, big or small, young or old, present or passed, I love you and thank you for enriching my life immensely on a daily basis.”
ON THIS DAY = JUNE 7
BIRTHDAYS
1778 = Beau Brummell = English cricketer and fashion designer 🌈
1848 = Paul Gauguin = French painter and sculptor
1909 = Jessica Tandy = English-American actor
1910 = Marion Post Wolcott = American photographer
1917 = Dean Martin = American singer, actor, and producer
1917 = Gwendolyn Brooks = American poet
1928 = James Ivory = American filmmaker 🌈
1940 = Tom Jones, Welsh singer and actor
1943 = Nikki Giovanni = American poet, writer and activist 🌈
1952 = Liam Neeson, Irish-American actor
1958 = Prince, American singer-songwriter and actor
1962 = Lance Reddick, American actor
1967 = Dave Navarro, American musician
1970 = Dean Deblois = Canadian filmmaker and animator 🌈
1978 = Bill Hader, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter
1979 = Anne McClain = American engineer, officer, and astronaut 🌈
1988 – Michael Cera, Canadian actor and musician
EVENTS
1946 = The United Kingdom's BBC returns to broadcasting its television service, which has been off air for seven years because of World War II.
1955 = Lux Radio Theatre signs off the air permanently. The show launched in New York in 1934, and featured radio adaptations of Broadway shows and popular films.
1969 = In their only UK concert, the rock supergroup Blind Faith, featuring Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood and Ginger Baker, debuted in London's Hyde Park in front of 100,000 fans.
1975 = Sony launches Betamax, the first videocassette recorder format.
1982 = Priscilla Presley opens Graceland to the public.
1985 = The Goonies is released in theaters.
HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES
PORTRAIT + QUOTE OF THE DAY
”One of my favorite things about animation is that the boundaries are as limitless as our imaginations. If we can dream it, we can make it. And if we do it well, audiences will believe it wholeheartedly.”
Dean DeBlois
As you quote the gallery's site, Hurd's artist statement has this unfortunate typo: "we will now cower," surely meant to be "not cower." Happy to help! Thank you for your daily calls to inspiration and embrace of our vibrant community. Look what we've accomplished throughout history! Is there an available catalogue for the Bachardy show?
Thanks Clint, I LOVE everything having to do with ART!!!