Carl Grauer Portrait Paintings

Figurative portrait painting of LGBTQ icon, Gilbert Baker, creator of the Rainbow Flag Entitled: "Gilbert Baker (Rainbow Maker)" Painted by Carl Grauer in 2019 oil on board 27.5 inch diameter, 37.5 inch diameter with gold painted wood frame Wire backing, ready to hang Signed, verso This painting was made by Poughkeepsie, NY based artist, Carl Grauer, in 2019. It is part of the artist's latest series, The Lavender Temple of Their Most Fabulous, painted in tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion. Here the artist depicts the creator of the Rainbow Flag, Gilbert Baker. He stands upon the top of the world, dressed in a rainbow colored robe while the Latin words, which stand for each color of the flag, is displayed above him. The figure is framed with a circular rainbow colored banner. The portrait is complimented with a circular custom made gold painted wood frame. About Gilbert Baker: Gilbert Baker was an artist and activist who created the rainbow flag in 1978. Born in Chanute, Kansas in 1951, he first came to San Francisco as an Army medic in the early 1970s. After being honorably discharged from the military, he learned how to sew and began making banners for gay rights and anti-war marches. Baker was challenged by Harvey Milk...

Portrait painting of LGBTQ icon, Audre Lorde Entitled: "Audre Lorde (Black, Lesbian, Mother, Warrior, Poet)" Painted by Carl Grauer in 2018 Oil and gold leaf on canvas 40 x 30 inches, 41.5 x 31.5 inches in black frame with gold painted interior Wire backing, ready to hang Signed, verso This painting was made by Poughkeepsie, NY based artist, Carl Grauer, in 2019. It is part of the artist's latest series, The Lavender Temple of Their Most Fabulous, painted in tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion. Here the artist depicts feminist poet, writer and activist, Audre Lorde with a Gustav Klimt inspired motif of gold and multi colored markings while a gold leaf halo frames Lorde's stoic face. Grauer modeled this painting from a famous picture of Lorde after a mastectomy where she stands in a relaxed posed, unabashedly gazing at the viewer. The portrait is complimented with a black painted wood frame that has a painted gold interior. About Audre Lorde: Audre Lorde was a feminist poet, writer and activist who addressed civil rights, feminism, lesbianism and the exploration of black female identity in her work. A self-described “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet,” she was born in Harlem in 1934 and began writing as a teenager. Throughout her career, Lorde published nine volumes of poetry and five works of prose, and earned honorary doctorates from Hunter, Oberlin, and Haverford Colleges, and was named the New York State poet laureate. She was critical of the lack of inclusivity in the mainstream feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s and sought to expand feminist discourse to take into account the totality of women’s identities, including race, class, gender identity, and sexuality. Lorde also wrote extensively about her breast cancer diagnosis and treatment beginning in the early 1980s. She passed away in 1992 in Saint Croix. “It is learning how to take our differences and make them strengths. For the master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change.” – Audre Lorde More about the series: In tribute to the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, Poughkeepsie based artist Carl Grauer debuts The Lavender Temple of Their Most Fabulous, a new series depicting notable figures of the LGBTQ+ movement. Portraits of gay rights advocates, such as Harvey Milk...

Portrait painting of LGBTQ icon, Barbara Gittings Entitled: "Barbara Gittings (Mother)" Painted by Carl Grauer in 2019 Oil and gold leaf on board 20 x 32 inches, 20 x 16 inches when closed Can rest on a surface or can be hung with two d-rings that are installed on the back This painting was made by Poughkeepsie, NY based artist, Carl Grauer, in 2019. It is part of the artist's latest series, The Lavender Temple of Their Most Fabulous, painted in tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion. Here the artist depicts LGBTQ activist, Barbara Gittings, on a gold leaf triptych frame resembling a Catholic altarpiece. Gittings is further sanctified with a glowing gold leaf halo while holding a copy of "The Ladder". Scenes of homosexual rights protests are featured on the left and right side of the folding triptych. When closed, the painting measures 20 x 16 inches and depicts two female symbols on the front. The piece can be shown unfolded either resting on a surface or by hanging it with the two d-rings that are installed on the back. About Barbara Gittings: Barbara Gittings was a LGBTQ+ activist whose contributions had a significant impact on LGBTQ+ acceptance and rights in the United States. Born in Vienna, Austria in 1932 while her father served as a U.S. diplomat, she was the organizer of the New York chapter of the Daughter of Bilitis (DOB), the first US national lesbian organization and served as editor of the DOB magazine, The Ladder, from 1963-1966. In the 1960s, Gittings co-organized picket lines to raise awareness about the ban on employment of gay people by the U.S. government, the country’s largest employer at the time. She also was part of the movement to persuade the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which they stopped listing as a mental disorder in 1973. Her childhood experiences of finding very little literature or information about being gay inspired her to have a lifelong involvement with libraries, especially the American Library Association (ALA), to promote positive LGBTQ+ literature in libraries. She passed away in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania in 2007 and has awards from the ALA and Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) named after her. “Equal treatment — no more, no less — is what we want! And compassion— which many homosexuals gladly swallow because they think it represents an improvement in attitudes toward them — is not equal treatment.” – Barbara Gittings More about the series: In tribute to the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, Poughkeepsie based artist Carl Grauer debuts The Lavender Temple of Their Most Fabulous, a new series depicting notable figures of the LGBTQ+ movement. Portraits of gay rights advocates, such as Harvey Milk...

Portrait painting of LGBTQ icon, Harvey Milk Entitled: "Harvey Milk (You Have Got to Give Them Hope)" Painted by Carl Grauer in 2019 Oil and gold leaf on c...

Portrait painting of LGBTQ icon, Bayard Rustin Oil and gold leaf on canvas 10 x 8 inches, 13.75 x 11.75 inches in vintage wood frame wire backing, ready to hang This painting was made by Poughkeepsie, NY based artist, Carl Grauer, in 2019. It is part of the artist's latest series, The Lavender Temple of Their Most Fabulous, painted in tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion. Here the artist likens Bayard Rustin to a saint, painting his portrait on a background of gold leaf. The realistic portrait is complimented in a vintage wood frame with gold detail. More about the series: In tribute to the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, Poughkeepsie based artist Carl Grauer debuts The Lavender Temple of Their Most Fabulous, a new series depicting notable figures of the LGBTQ+ movement. Portraits of gay rights advocates, such as Harvey Milk...

Figurative portrait painting of LGBTQ icon, Storme Delarverie 'Storme Delarverie (The Jewel of Stonewall)' oil and gold leaf on canvas 30 x 15 inches, 37.25 x 22.25 inches in white painted wood frame with hand carved detail wire backing, ready to hang This painting was made by Poughkeepsie, NY based artist, Carl Grauer, in 2019. It is part of the artist's latest series, The Lavender Temple of Their Most Fabulous, painted in tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion. In this dual portrait, Storme Delarverie is pictured with a white halo while gold leaves surround them in a lush forest landscape. The painting is complimented with a white painted wood frame with hand carved detailing. More about the series: In tribute to the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion, Poughkeepsie based artist Carl Grauer debuts The Lavender Temple of Their Most Fabulous, a new series depicting notable figures of the LGBTQ+ movement. Portraits of gay rights advocates, such as Harvey Milk...