History News Network

Breaking News

Departments

Roundup: Pop Culture & the Arts ... Movies, Documentaries and Museum Exhibits

Victorian erotica: the original cheeky girls

Ever wondered what our great grandparents got up to behind closed doors? A new collection of erotica leaves little doubt, says Guy Kennaway

'I bought my first erotic photograph in the mid-1980s,' Danny Moynihan tells me. 'I had come across some photos of Austrian origin of rather portly looking ladies in petticoats playing with sex toys. I thought they were rather amusing.'

Moynihan is an artist and a curator. He has collaborated frequently with his friend Damien Hirst and has written a novel - soon to be released as a film - satirising the art world. He is also the owner of one of the world's largest collections of vintage erotica.

'At the time I was buying and selling 20th-century photographs with the art dealer Paul Kasmin,' he explains. 'In those days photos didn't really exceed $5,000, though we did own a Violin d'Ingres by Man Ray which we sold to the Getty for $10,000, but that was an exceptional piece.'

Posted on Saturday, May 10, 2008 at 2:01 AM | Comments (0) | Return

Home Newsletter Submissions Advertising Donations Archives Internships About Us FAQs Contact Us All Articles