In his portrayal of male nudes we find evidence of both his sexual and aesthetic desires. By his early twenties, Duncan Grant was beginning to be recognised for his highly developed technical skills. Having studied the Old Masters during his stay in Paris, Grant acquired a thorough under-standing of human anatomy and, upon his return to London, he began applying this knowledge in his practice. In , he took up a studio at 21 Fitzroy Square and focused his efforts on portraiture.
In an attempt to save money by avoiding hiring professional life models, Grant asked his family and friends to pose for him — for his paintings, drawings, as well as photographs.
He would use the latter as a reference for his future portraits. Grant, too, posed naked in front of the camera. His choice to portray himself at ease, in an open, close-up manner, with no embarrassment or shame of his naked body is reflective of his views on nudity and intimacy. While Grant himself may not have felt shame because of his sexual identity, the Criminal Law Amendment Act of meant that any homosexual acts were not only viewed as shameful by British society, but also made illegal in the eyes of the law.
It criminalised all male homosexual acts, both private and public, consensual and those done without consent. For the 82 years that the legislation remained in place, it had a devastating effect not only on queer men but British society in general.
It reenforced widespread bigotry and sexual hypocrisy, already prevalent in late Victorian England. To this day, we continue to unpack the ramifications of the Act of and its impact on the lives of generations of British gay men. In a letter to his then lover John Maynard Keynes , Grant writes:. Here I am surrounded by them, not a soul to speak to. Many of his sketches are erotic in nature and show deep intimacy with the sitter.
