I didn’t know who J.C. Leyendecker was when I started Ryan White’s shortlisted Documentary Short Subject, Coded: The Hidden Love of J.C. Leyendecker, but I knew some of his artwork. There was something so familiar about his imagery that stood out to me, and I was shocked to discover that I recognized quite a few pieces featured in White’s film. It is tragic that not enough people knew who Leyendecker was, but thanks to White’s documentary, we get a glimpse of his genius and his heart.
What I love about Coded is how it shows a throughline between how queer images were presented secretly in artwork decades ago to how we see queer people represented in advertisements today. Jari Jones, a trans, Black model, actress, and filmmaker, sees herself on a billboard in New York City as part of Calvin Klein’s Pride campaign. She later details how she has never felt seen in media.
Leyendecker changed the way that men are seen in art. They had breathing bodies underneath the clothes, and his subjects feel like walking, sexual beings. It is a shame that more people don’t know his name or are aware of what he did for closeted men during his time. Thanks to White’s respectful and illuminating film, more people know the name of J.C. Leyendecker.
Awards Daily: I love that you open the film with Jari Jones seeing her billboard. Tell me about that choice and what it was like to film that reaction.
Ryan White: We were looking for someone currently in the world of advertising art — either an artist or model — that echoed the themes of Leyendecker and Charles Beach. When we discovered Jari’s story and met her and realized she was also such an astute student of queer history, we thought she would be the perfect modern-day storyline.
AD: How much did you know about J.C. Leyendecker and why do you think he hasn’t been talked about yet?
RW: I had seen Leyendecker’s artwork before, but I was unfamiliar with his name and knew nothing about his backstory. I think he’s been largely forgotten because of the homophobic historical currents that occurred at the end of his life — but also because he deliberately buried his own legacy when he asked Charles Beach to burn his personal items. Queer history unfortunately has often been buried from both sides.
AD: Do you have a favorite Leyendecker piece? I’m partial to “June Graduate” (the pointed wrist), “Thanksgiving — Pilgrim and the Football Player,” “German Soldier,” “Colonial Couple Under the Mistletoe,” and, of course, “Two Men on the Sofa.”
RW: It’s so hard to choose, but one of my favorite Leyendeckers is a cover he did for the Saturday Evening Post called “Labor Day On the Beach.” It has an amazing cast of characters all surrounding a lifeguard in the middle who looks ripped out of a modern-day LGBTQ magazine. It’s very slice-of-life, but also each character in the painting carries their own narrative.
AD: I was shocked to see the similarities between Leyendecker’s work and the work of Norman Rockwell. Rockwell became the artist to capture the mood and spirit of the all-American family in a time when queer people were not truly allowed to live openly or get married. Do you think there could be a re-evaluation of their work side by side?
RW: Judy Cutler, one of our interviewees, published a book of that featured side-by-side paintings of Leyendecker and Rockwell. It’s astounding to see the similarities. Rockwell was undeniably talented, but I think more attention should be paid to the original looks created by Leyendecker that Rockwell ran with.
AD: I love that you are working so tirelessly on queer documentaries, especially Visible: Out On Television. Tell me what is important to you when approaching telling real stories of the LGBTQIA community.
RW: I grew up in Georgia in the 80s, and I never had any sense of queer history. It definitely wasn’t taught to us in school. So everything I’ve learned about my community, I’ve had to seek out as an adult. So now that I have a career in storytelling, I like working on projects that can add to that collective history.
AD: If you could tell or ask J.C. Leyendecker anything, what would it be?
I think the biggest mystery at the center of our film is why Leyendecker eventually lost all of his commissions. Art historians often presume his sexuality played a role, but I wish I could hear directly from Leyendecker why exactly he believes his career had such a sudden downturn.
Coded: The Hidden Love of J.C. Leyendecker is available on Paramount+.
