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Tom of Finland

Ranked #3,474 in Arts & Design, #51,438 overall

Everyone should be true to themselves!

Twelve years ago I was working at the Finnish Cultural Institute in Paris. The first exhibition I was in charge of featured Tom of Finland.

Tom of Finland must be the most influential Finnish Artist ever. His drawings of charming bikers with their leather caps and jackets have been said to influence even the looks of young Marlon Brando.

Apart from being very important gay icon, the art of Tom of Finland, in my opinion, carries also a much broader message. Through being true to oneself and through respecting the others around you for what they are, through equality and consideration one can make life a pleasurable journey!

In 2009 Tom of Finland was representing Finland within the Venice Biennale Nordic Pavillion.

Tom of Finland on Taide & Design magazine

Tom of Finland David a beauty, 1989excerpt from the article:

"Touko Laaksonen, a.k.a. Tom of Finland (1920-1991), was my partner, friend, confidant and major life inspiration. Knowing Tom and what moved him in creating such beautiful renderings of his male friends can be found in whom he drew and how they were portrayed. You could never be sure where you would show up in a drawing! The cool part of it simply was that you would show up and perhaps in one of the artist's most striking works of the time."

Durk Dehner, Co-Founder and President, Tom of Finland Foundation

Tom of Finland at the 53rd Venice Biennale

Tom of Finland XXL

hardcover

The largest collection ever in the largest format ever!

Authors: John Waters, Edward Lucie-Smith,
Armistead Maupin, Todd Oldham &
Camille Paglia

Editor: Dian Hanson

Purchase Tom of Finland XXL

The Art of Pleasure

the first edition has become a collectors item


The first edition of The Art of Pleasure is the other one of the large format, hardcover books featuring the art of Tom of Finland.

If you manage to find the first edition, published in 1999, hardcover, large format and printed on beautiful paper, don't let it go!

About the author: Micha Ramakers is an art historian. He has written extensively on the work of Tom of Finland and other visual expressions of post-war gay subcultures.

You may find The Art of Pleasure first edition (second hand) from here

The Leather Report on Tom of Finland

featuring Durk Dehner, President of the Tom of Finland Foundation

Durk Dehner talks about Tom of Finland, his art and the history of the Foundation
The Leather Report on Tom of Finland
by Leatherarchives | video info

47 ratings | 15,049 views
curated content from YouTube

Hector Silva Art at The Tom of Finland Art Exhibit

powered by Youtube

Tom of Finland: Daddy and the Muscle Academy

a film by Ilppo Pohjola

Daddy and the Muscle Academy is a documentary by Finnish director Ilppo Pohjola, released in 1992, about life and surroundings of Tom of Finland. It has been praised to be "just as sexy as Tom's work".

I have this film in my collection and would recommend it to anybody either interested in Tom's art or his life!

Starring: Tom of Finland
Director: Ilppo Pohjola

Purchase Tom of Finland: Daddy and the Muscle Academy

The Complete Kake Comics

Touko Laaksonen becoming Tom of Finland

Tom of Finland (Touko Laaksonen 1920-1991) started drawing cartoons at age five. His favorite subjects were the rough manly men of his native Finland. Touko knew from an early age that men interested him more than women. He studied art in Helsinki briefly and went to work in advertising.

Touko nonetheless secretly continued creating his increasingly erotic drawings of hyper-masculine men. In 1957 he submitted some drawings to the American magazine Physique Pictorial and the "Tom of Finland" legend was born.

The Complete Kake Comics contains all 26 episodes of the Kake serial.

Find The Complete Kake Comics here

Tom of Finland: The Comic Collection



Compiled by Durk Dehner, President of Tom of Finland Foundation and long time companion of Tom, this collection is a 960 page, 5 book collection of 27 Kake stories in a box.

Find Tom of Finland: The Comic Collection here

Tom of Finland: His Life and Times


This account by F. Valentine Hooven III was my first introduction to Tom.

It is a free flowing biography of Tom's journey of becoming a world renowned artist, his cultural background and passions.

If you didn't know Tom of Finland already, I would warmly recommend you starting with this one.

Get Tom of Finland: His Life and Times here

Tom of Finland Foundation

Tom of Finland Foundation
Dedicated to Protecting, Preserving And Promoting Erotic Art
WELCOME!
The Tom of Finland
Foundation website includes explicit depictions of sexuality, including
homosexuality, heterosexuality, transgender, fetishes and other forms
of art that are unsuitable for minors.

Tom of Finland livre d'Or

leave a note!

  • StephenC Mar 11, 2011 @ 1:20 pm | delete
    Very interesting lens. Glad I stopped by.
  • DaveStone13 Feb 8, 2011 @ 2:12 pm | delete
    Original. Great!
  • Hairdresser007 Jan 17, 2011 @ 11:39 pm | delete
    I LOVE Tom of Finland!
  • chloecapulet Nov 9, 2010 @ 10:47 am | delete
    quality lens! i just came back from Finland... and i like this lens!
  • Tomfan Jul 11, 2010 @ 11:10 am | delete
    Tom of Finland is The Master. He illustrates to perfection Heaven, the civitas Dei.
Show All

Tom of Finland breaking the news

Happy Birthday Tom!
I just found out that it was Tom of Finland's birthday yesterday ? he was born on May 8th, 1920. He wasn't the first 20th Century artist to idealise and eroticise the male body, and others were playing with the same sort of images of hyper-masculine ...
¡Viva La Mexico! Or What I Learned on Spring Break
It was as if an itinerary of two relaxing weeks exploring the Mayan Riviera was equivalent to donning a leisure suit with printed Tom of Finland images to travel in Pakistan. I went anyway. And I am here to report that, not only am I safeand sound, ...
Oh Land's Copenhagen for Louis Vuitton
For a little leather bar action there's the Tom of Finland-ish (also very elder gay oriented) Men's Bar which I'm guessing is not an Oh Land pick, but it's funny there. She should try it. They take leather to a gladiator place, which is?kooky.
Finns left mark on Minnesota
By Tom Weber The Finnish immigrants who settled in Minnesota were an iconoclastic bunch. Their impenetrable language, their unusual bathing habits and their affinity for socialism placed them outside the mainstream of American life in the late 19th and ...
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Tom of Finland books on auction

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Vivienne Westwood

Did you know that during the 70's SEX-boutique era Vivienne Westwood released a T-shirt featuring the Tom of Finland's drawing of two cowboys that became, maybe because of the initial scandal, highly collectible.
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mariatjader

I am an avid fan of the art of Tom of Finland. For me his masterful drawings signify the importance of being true to oneself!

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