Dating from the late 1960s, this vintage 8-by-10-inch male nude beefcake photograph by photographer Avery Willard, features a handsome, hairy chested cowboy in tight denim jeans and leather boots, hat, and holster posing in a fantasy set with a carousel horse.

This photo is unusual for both Willard and the period, using stage props as a backdrop for the models.

Avery Willard
Photographer, filmmaker, publisher, performer, and gay activist Avery Willard came to New York after World War II to find work as an actor. He soon began taking photographs of his fellow performers with the box camera that his mother gave him, which lead to a successful career as a professional photographer from the late 1940s through the 1960s. His portraits of actors, actresses, musicians, and dancers appeared regularly in the theater annual Theater World, and included Bea Arthur, Lloyd Bridges, Richard Burton, Carol Channing, Montgomery Clift, Hermione Gingold, Lillian Gish, Charlton Heston, Lotte Lenya, Butterfly McQueen, Jayne Mansfield, Paul Newman, Geraldine Page, Anthony Quinn, Maureen Stapleton, Jessica Tandy, Gwen Verdon, Kaye Ballard, James Caan, Merv Griffin, Guy Lombardo, Robert Morse, Dick Shawn, Bobby Short, Elaine Stritch, Leonard Bernstein, Ruth Brown, Pablo Casals, Nat King Cole, Ted Shawn and many others.

Willard utilized the art of montage extensively in his work, and wrote an article on the subject for Photography Handbook. After the 1968 Stonewall uprising in Greenwich Village, under the name Bruce King, Willard began publishing the newspaper Gay Scene, which continued in print through 1992. He also ran a small gay film production company called Ava-Graph. His post-Stonewall photography includes wonderfully sensual male nudes, impeccable drag queens and by-gone celebrities from the gay community.

Condition
Measuring just under 8-by-10-inches, this vintage photograph is printed on glossy stock and is in good condition. Quality and clarity are very good.