Vintage Portraits Depict the Love and Pride of Gay People

The Invisibles: Vintage Portraits of Love and Pride, published by Rizzoli, is a testament to love and intimacy, even in the face of persecution and prejudice.The artist and filmmaker Sébastien Lifshitz collected these photos at yard sales and flea markets, some of which he found in assembled family photo albums. As he explains in his introduction, it was very clear from the albums that the photos inside were indeed depicting a committed romantic relationship and not a friendship.

Lifshitz, who also made a documentary film on this subject, raises an important point when he reminds us that all of these photos are pre-digital era: “Because to obtain these images, they had to have gone to a small neighborhood photo lab to develop the film and then go back to pick up the prints. They, therefore, had to run the risk of exposing themselves socially. The need to keep a memory of their love was certainly stronger than the disapproval of some business or any concerns about what others might say.”

The Invisibles, published by Rizzoli, is available here. 

All images © Sébastien Lifshitz

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