Discover the origins of queer identities with a groundbreaking exhibition on the birth of the term “homosexual.” The exhibition The First Homosexuals explores the early emergence and visibility of same-sex desire and gender diversity in art. It traces how, beginning in 1869—the year the term “homosexual” was first coined—radically new images and ideas of sexuality, gender, and identity began to take shape, continuing into the aftermath of World War II.
Featuring around 100 paintings, photographs, sculptures, and works on paper, the show presents homosexual identities as a historical phenomenon, seen through the eyes of artists. It explores a world of queer networks, intimate portraits, coded desires, colonial entanglement, and bold ways of living—and draws an unexpected connection to Basel’s cultural scene, from Ottilie W. Roederstein to Tamara de Lempicka and Oscar Wilde to Paul Camenisch.
Featuring around 100 paintings, photographs, sculptures, and works on paper, the show presents homosexual identities as a historical phenomenon, seen through the eyes of artists. It explores a world of queer networks, intimate portraits, coded desires, colonial entanglement, and bold ways of living—and draws an unexpected connection to Basel’s cultural scene, from Ottilie W. Roederstein to Tamara de Lempicka and Oscar Wilde to Paul Camenisch.
