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AFTER DARK/OCTOBER 2026

Thu, Oct 29, 2026 07:00PM EDT
  2026-10-29 19:00:00 2026-10-29 19:00:00 America/New_York Vallots Auctioneers Vallots Auctioneers : AFTER DARK/OCTOBER 2026 https://auction.vallots.com/auctions/vallot-auctioneers/after-dark-october-2026-24027
Our AFTER DARK/OCTOBER catalog presents an exceptional collection of art focused on the beauty of the male form across the categories of painting, illustration, photography, and more. Selections range from vibrant paintings by artists such as Mark Beard, Robert Bliss, Cornelius McCarthy, and Delmas Howe; homoerotic works by iconic Japanese artists including Sadao Hasegawa, Go Mishima, and Gengoroh Tagame; and an assortment of drawings and ephemera from to iconic gay figures like Paul Cadmus and Sam Steward.
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Lot 26

John S. Barrington (British, 1920-1991)

Estimate: $500 - $800
Starting Bid
$250

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $10
$100 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,500 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$25,000 $2,500
$50,000 $5,000
$100,000 $10,000

Portrait of Gian-Carlo Zampetti, ca. 1965.
Oil stick, graphite and incising on gessoed masonite board.

A large-scale portrait of Barrington's lover and frequent muse, Gian-Carlo Zampetti. Barrington and Zampetti met along the Côte d'Azur, France in 1958, after which the two would enter an on-and-off relationship lasting until 1962.

Beginning his career before World War II during the late 1930s, Barrington was a pioneer of homoerotic art, establishing the British physique genre that would later flourish from the 1960s onwards. In 1954, he launched Male Model Monthly, the first British physique magazine. As an artist with a homoerotic and male erotic focus Barrington was the subject of repeated witch-hunt investigations. He was arrested for obscenity and "homosexual indecency" multiple times throughout his career but was unrelenting in the pursuit of his oeuvre.  

Board: 24 x 18 in. (60.9 x 45.7 cm)
Frame: 35 1/2 x 28 in. (90 x 72.4 cm)

Auctioneer's Note: This item was offered and acquired in a previous Vallots' sale and entered into a private collection. The collector has since passed, and as per the estate of the collector, this item has been consigned for sale with Vallot Auctioneers.

Condition

Minor abrasions along the figure's shoulder on the center left and near the elbow on the lower right.

For further condition details or additional images, please contact info@vallots.com

Provenance

Dreweatts 1759. London, UK. The Erotica Sale - Books, Works on Paper & Photographs. June 29, 2017, lot 99.

Property of a Private New York Collection.

Vallot Auctioneers. Providence, RI. AFTER DARK/SPRING 2025. May 22, 2025, lot 10. Acquired from the above.

Property of a Wisconsin Estate, purchased from the above.

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We do not offer in-house packing and shipping services. Shipping can be expensive, please consider obtaining an estimate prior to bidding. Below we have listed our preferred shipper as a courtesy, and we will be glad to assist you with your third-party shipping needs, however, we assume no liability for any shipper you use or any loss or damage occasioned in transport or otherwise as a result of shipping.

THE UPS STORE - CRANSTON
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148 Atwood Ave, Cranston, RI 02920
(401) 654-6381
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THE UPS STORE - PARSONAGE STREET
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