William (Bill) Petrie with his partner, actor Tom Brown Petrie, on their Grant County farm. The farm became a rural oasis for many gay men throughout the United States, drawn there by the beauty of Kentucky and Tom and Bill's hospitality. Bill was a prolific painter, tobacco farmer, political activist and passionate gay man living in the rural bluegrass of Kentucky. Bill passed away in 1995. This large collection of artworks and photographs were gifted to FMA after Tom's death in 2021.

Hockensmith brokered the large sale of Faulkner paintings between Greene Settle’s estate and the Carrols of First Southern National Bank. Hockensmith talks about how he met Henry Faulkner, what work he did for Henry, how Henry taught him to “see” his art, exhibits and displays, and Henry’s house on Third Street.

Mark Hurte, originally from Lancaster, entered the Lexington scene on Halloween of 1980 when he went to watch the Rocky Horror Picture Show as a freshman at Eastern Kentucky University. He became known as the drag queen Skyscraper and was close to Bradley Picklesimer, Chris "Serpentina" Sloane, and Bob Morgan. This collections includes a number of photographs from the drag scene of the 1980s, the Sybarite Balls, and his various adventures in Lexington.

This session with Markus chronicles his life with Crossings, the gay bar at 117 North Limestone, including its founding, early activities, and its notoriously cruisy basement. Markus also talks about the Colts leather group, the bar’s all-male persona, cowboy nights, etc.

The material included here was gifted by Shelbi Clarke Rhein, and mostly represents material related to her brother, Lige Clarke, an important early gay rights advocate originally from Hindman, Kentucky. These items were mailed to me by Rhein on October 19, 2019. Rhein was born in Hindman, Kentucky. She is the older sister of Lige Clarke. She is the mother of New York based artist, Eric Rhien. This material was sent to me over the course of 2019 as I was writing my article on Lige Clarke.

Varble was born in Owensboro Kentucky in 1948, studied at the University of Kentucky, then became a famous performance artist in New York in the 1970s. He died of AIDS in 1984. David Getsy, art historian and curator, is writing a biography of Varble.

Louis Bickett, is a well-known Lexington artist and gay man. In this interview he talks about his childhood in Winchester, moving to Lexington at the age of 32, and the gay scene here. He also talks about the way it has influenced his art, and the distance he often felt with the gay community of Lexington. He talks about AIDS and his career at the Lexington restaurant of note, A La Lucie’s.

Edwin Hackney was a social worker and lifelong gay activist. In the early 1980s, he implemented the Gay Services Organization Gay Line which later became GLSO Pride Center. He was a founding member of AVOL Kentucky, which in the early days was a volunteer mobilization effort to do whatever it took to care for those suffering from HIV disease when resources were scarce. He gave mental health help to the volunteers who were aiding the sick. He also served as an officer for NALGAP (National Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Addiction Professionals and their allies).

Henry is represented throughout many collections in our archive.

Sweets is represented throughout many collections in our archive.