(12 June 1962 – 1 March 1995)
1 Crows 1988
2 Tribute to El Greco 1988
3 White Shirt and tie 1988
3 White Shirt and tie 1988
I
was first introduced to Hugh Steer’s work by Jack Waters and Peter
Cramer, friends in common. I never met Mr Steers. His work owes an
obvious debt to Pierre Bonnard and his hot intimist vision, but
Steer’s vision is unambiguously Queer. He attended Hotchkiss in
northwestern CT, a very exclusive prep school, where he was known as
something of a prodigy, and received his undergraduate degree from Yale
and graduate degree from Skowhegan in Maine. Though he came from
privilege he mostly benefited from it only in his education. While he
was very much connected to the Lower East Side Scene of the 1980s he
never achieved the recognition of Straight male painters, like Duncan
Hannah and Walter Robinson (both of whose work I happen to love). He
died from the effects of HIV and its treatments in 1995. The paintings
reproduced above and below are placed, top to bottom, in chronological order and
were painted between the years 1988 and 1993. Interestingly, the only
female figure I found depicted on a recent search was one in the act of
learning or practicing self defense.
5 Showers II 1990
6 Door to Tub 1990
7 Shadow Box II 1991
8 Futon Couch 1991
9 Bath Curtain 1993
10 Mr Coffee 1993
11 Pockets 1993
12 Hospital Bed 1993
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