Physique Pictorial.Laaksonen’s erotic art immediately found a following. People not only loved his photorealistic approach, but also the fact his work showed guys unapologetically and shamelessly enjoying sex with one another.
His men were often shown smiling and staring lustily at one another: a sexy, liberating utopian fantasy that most gay men could only dream about in real life.Laaksonen died of an emphysema-induced stroke in 1991, aged 71.
The artist behind the drawings of gay hyper-masculinity remains a mystery to many.Tom of Finland not only pushed the boundaries of homoerotic art and censorship in the 1950s and 60s, but his images became intertwined with gay culture and the gay aesthetic of the 1970s until present day..