JackManly is a big fan of Bush. No we're not talking about our mentally-challenged, saber-rattling, tongue-tied President who seems hellbent on stamping out the last embers of US credibility. Nor are we talking about his crotchety whiner dad. Or anyone else in that misbegotten clan. We're not even talking about that canned baked beans brand either.

 We're talking about Harry Bush, the gay illustrator whose work you've of which you've probably seen samples in magazines, ads, etc over the years. Harry Bush (yes his real name) was a very prolific artist whose lively erotic art has been collected in a beautiful volume Hard Boys. Talk about a celebration of the male form!

  Imagine a style that's as delicate and as perfectly rendered as a Normal Rockwell painting, yet celebrates unapologetically the beauty of the male form in all its homoerotic glory. Bush's art appeared in gay magazines through the 60s and 70s and gained him recognition--something he did not want.



 As much as Harry Bush’s art glorifies the male physique in a very happy, loving and humorously raunchy light, Bush himself was a reclusive closet case. An ex-military man he feared losing his pension if outed. He has often been described as a paradox--someone with a true gift of free artistic expression who was personally and sexually frustrated. He was simply a product of his time when homosexuality was so vilified as to create a generation of sell-loathing men.  In his later years Harry Bush was befriended by homoerotic art connoisseur Bob Mainardi who was given permission by the artist to do what he wished with his art. Over ten years later we see the results in this 200+ page book chock full of art as it was meant to be seen. 



 Hard Boys is available through our JackManly Store, affiliated with Amazon. It's just one of many books of male erotic illustration and photography that we recommend and whose artists deserve your support.