pp. 214-215 Lov204. Photograph, undated, 89 x 63 mm. Courtesy of the Nini-Treadwell collection © *Loving* by 5 Continents Editions

Written by Michael Galati

While perusing an antique shop in Dallas about 20 years ago, Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell happened upon an image from the 1920s depicting two men in an undeniably romantic embrace. The couple was struck by the overt love expressed between two men during a time that was thought to be less progressive. Equally shocking to them was the quotidian exposition of the image: two men dressed in everyday wear in a typical American suburban setting. Struck that they’d found a holy grail of clandestine gay love, they searched for images depicting this love from around the same period.

p. 209 Lov197. Photograph, undated. 117 × 92 mm. Note: "Edward and his chum." Courtesy of the Nini-Treadwell collection © *Loving* by 5 Continents Editions

20 years later, in October 2020, Nini and Treadwell published Loving: A Photographic History of Men in Love 1850s-1950s, an over-300-page compendium of previously unpublished images documenting love between men in all kinds of settings. Some photos are taken in public by friends, family, and strangers, while others are captured in private, all featuring a specific romantic gaze between men. Their collection is global in scale as well, documenting men in love from the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Hungry, Australia, Japan, Singapore, China, Czechia, Slovakia, Estonia, Russia, Portugal, and South America. Organized in such a way to say that this love has existed forever and will persist forever, heedless of attempts to erase history or silence contemporary gay voices, Loving celebrates love in the universal sense: that it can be recognized anywhere by anyone at any time.

p. 86 Lov062. Photomaton, United States, non daté, 27 x 32 mm. Courtesy of the Nini-Treadwell collection. © *Loving* by 5 Continents Editions

Now, from June 4 to September 28, Nini and Treadwell will have their work featured in the galleries of the Musée Rath at The Musée d’Art et d’Histoire in Geneva, Switzerland, in their exhibition Loving – The Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell Collection. Swiss artist Urs Lüthi featured two self-filmed black and white films from 1974 on intimacy, and the couple is projected on Rath’s lower level. Zurich-based photographer Walter Pfeiffer created a selection from the collection, blowing images into larger wall installations.

p. 108 Lov104. Photograph, 1951. 83 x 121 mm. Note: "1951", "Davis & J.C." Courtesy of the Nini-Treadwell collection. © *Loving* by 5 Continents Editions

Historically, images of men in embrace were met with romantic skepticism. They were written off as being just friends under the pretense that platonic relationships looked different in the past. Nini and Treadwell successfully subvert that pseudo-historical argument. In each picture, there is at least one clear sign that the men figured are in love. For example, the above image could have been read as a simple documentary photo of men in the military had Davis, the man on the left, not so delicately fit his cheek perfectly into his partner, J.C.’s shoulder, just enough to signal that he’s safe in his embrace. Coupled with their soft gazes and the slight lift in their smiles, saying what words can’t express, a reasonable viewer would register this as love.

p. 163 Lov159. Photograph, undated. 67 x 96 mm. Courtesy of the Nini-Treadwell collection. © *Loving* by 5 Continents Editions

Even in more sexual pictures, the small things stand out. Nini and Treadwell are masters at uncovering the fine, telling details and making them apparent to the viewer. While it might be evident that two men embracing each other in their underwear have some kind of sexual relationship, the touch that is almost not a touch of the left man’s thigh by his lover transcends a purely sexual relationship. Centered in the picture, the focus of the eye, it’s the kind of touch that is ephemeral but lasting, fantastical but so real, and this ineffable quality makes it universally recognizable as love.

To learn more, please visit Rath Museum between June 8 - 24 September or visit their website.