Join Tom of Finland Foundation to safeguard Queer and erotic works from LGBTQ+ artists all over the world

TOM OF FINLAND Untitled (From the “Sailor and the Cyclist” series), 1963, Graphite on paper, Tom of Finland Foundation Permanent Collection, © 1963 Tom of Finland Foundation

Gaining Strength from our Past, Building an Unshakable Future

This Giving Tuesday, join Tom of Finland Foundation in uplifting and honoring the legacies of Queer artists who gave everything—even their lives—to unapologetically advancing Queer visibility through their profound and provocative artworks, which are lovingly preserved within our collections.

Born from a dream shared by Tom and Cofounder Durk Dehner, the Tom of Finland Foundation’s repository was initially established to preserve and promote Tom’s work. However, with the onset of the AIDS epidemic in the United States, the Foundation’s purpose pivoted. Tom of Finland Foundation’s museum became a safe haven for the artworks of Queer erotic artists who feared their art would be destroyed after their deaths, while TOM House became a refuge for members of the Los Angeles community experiencing hardship from the ravage of HIV/AIDS.

In recognition of a Day With(out) Art, held annually on 1st December, to celebrate the contributions of artists, representing all media, who currently live with or have died from HIV/AIDS, Tom of Finland Foundation highlighted revolutionary artists who were not only friends of our Foundation in life, but who also made substantial donations of work to us before their deaths. The artists’ unflinching depictions of Queer sex and desire, and later their experiences living and dying from AIDS complications, are integral to our collective Queer history and the Queer future we are building together.

Today, Tom of Finland Foundation continues to safeguard Queer and erotic works from LGBTQ+ artists all over the world, including from our own Artist-in-Residence Program who mine inspiration from the trailblazing artists who came before them.

TOM OF FINLAND Untitled, 1982, Graphite on paper, © 1982 Tom of Finland Foundation

Help Tom of Finland Foundation maintain and expand our powerful and essential holdings
with a donation this Giving Tuesday.

The voices in our collections echo across borders and generations, offering depictions of Queer liberation to all LGBTQ+ people who need to see themselves free.

KEEP QUEER ART ALIVE

“Present-day artists are inspired by the generation before; they feed off each other. At our Foundation, we promote the present and future and protect the past. That’s really what creates community and family, because family isn’t just who’s alive today—it’s where you come from, all the people came before.”—Durk Dehner, Cofounder, Tom of Finland Foundation

Published: 2nd December 2025

Categorised in: Friends of Tom