SAN FRANCISCO - The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Historical Society presents a special, one-night only preview of its upcoming retrospective on the art of Chuck Arnett – Thursday, September 27 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. Admission is free, but this is event is designed to raise funds to support the full exhibit, which is slated to open in early 2008.

Arnett, who produced works in a variety of media, from dance to oil on canvas, is best remembered for the San Francisco Tool Box mural that he painted in 1963 on the wall of one of the first leather/SM bars in the United States. It was featured in the infamous 1964 Life magazine article, “Homosexuality in America,” credited by many with introducing San Francisco as America’s “gay capital.” Arnett painted murals in gay scene bars of 1960s and 1970s San Francisco and New York. Arnett shied away from the art world, so gained great notoriety within his particular world, but was virtually unknown outside of it. Most of his work has been hidden in private collections. His art ranges from the careful to the slipshod, the subtle to the bombastic, the genius to the amateur—not unlike that of Toulouse-Lautrec, to whom he was sometimes compared. Poet Thom Gunn said of Arnett, “Above all he believed in the purity of impulse [and he] helped to imagine and create the druggy sexual society of the present time.

Arnett’s work, long overdue for critical evaluation, illuminates one of the most important queer subcultures of the 20th century. “Lautrec in Leather” will mark the first time that his art is shown in a retrospective. At this preview, attendees will be invited to sponsor this vital exhibit.

WHAT:  Special Preview of the upcoming GLBT Historical Society exhibit “Lautrec in Leather: Chuck Arnett and the Birth of the San Francisco Scene”

WHEN:  Thursday, September 27 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm

WHERE:  GLBT Historical Society, 657 Mission Street, Suite 300 (between New Montgomery and Third), San Francisco. One block from the Montgomery BART/Muni station. Inexpensive city parking on Third (between Folsom and Howard).

Join us for our Annual Gala on September 20! The mission of the GLBT Historical Society is to increase public understanding, appreciation, and affirmation of the history and culture of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and other sexual minority individuals and communities. For more information, call 415.777.5455 or visit www.glbthistory.org.