Faggot Forefathers: Week Thirty-Four

    Aubrey Beardsley

    (August 21, 1872 – 1898)

    Sign: Leo

“I have one aim—the grotesque. If I am not grotesque I am nothing.”

Aubrey Beardsley was an English artist during the Victorian era. Beardsley’s illustrations led him to be remembered as one of the leaders of the Aestheticism movement, along with other artists of the era including his close friend Oscar Wilde. 

Beardsley co-founded and edited a literary journal called The Yellow Book. Beardsley edited and created cover art for the journal which published works by authors including H.G. Wells, Henry James, and W.B. Yeats. 

“Faggot Forefathers” is a weekly series highlighting the lives of historically significant gay men and their contributions to our world.