SAN FRANCISCO – June 4, 2024 --
The Bob Mizer Foundation’s second-floor Photography Research Archive room has been named the Charles Longcope, Jr. Photography Research Archive, the first room at the Foundation’s headquarters to be named in honor of an individual.
Charles Longcope, Jr., who passed in 2020, is survived by his life partner of 46 years, James Lynn Williams, a donor to the Foundation. The couple lived in Dallas, where Longcope, Jr. was a longtime teacher. Williams thanked the Foundation for the opportunity to name the archive in his late partner’s honor and praised the organization’s work.
“There’s nothing like the Bob Mizer Foundation to make me feel glad I am gay and proud. I have every available Physique Pictorial starting with number 42. I can’t wait for the next issue every quarter,” Williams says. “(Foundation founder and president) Den Bell has become a true friend, always attentive to my needs. It’s such a pleasure to work with him.”
A portion of Williams’ donation will be used to fund a centerpiece donor wall in the first floor’s main gallery and to update the furniture used to house the photography in the Foundation’s Permanent Collection
“We’re pleased to be able to offer the naming right for our photography research archive to James,” Bell says, “and, more importantly, we’re pleased that Charles’ memory will forever live on in our halls.”
A ribbon-cutting opening ceremony will be announced late this summer.
The Charles Longcope, Jr. Photography Research Archive houses the Foundation’s extensive collections of photographs taken by Bob Mizer himself, as well as the John Lillis & Jeff Bailey Photography Collection, composed of more than 30,000 images that Lillis donated to the Foundation in 2019. The Archive also houses a collection of 125,000 vintage photographs donated by Trent Dunphy and Robert Mainardi.
For more information about naming opportunities for other significant areas of the Foundation, e-mail info@bobmizer.org.
Bob Mizer (1922-92) was a mid-century male physique photographer. In 1945, Mizer founded the Athletic Model Guild; in 1951, he began publishing his pioneering zine Physique Pictorial, which would enjoy a press run of nearly 40 years.
During an era in which artists like Mizer could be (and were) censored and silenced by the ongoing threat of heavy fines, exposure to a puritanical public, and even jail time. His work remains a groundbreaking and critical component of LGBTQ+ culture and history, resonating with a global audience even today.
The Bob Mizer Foundation is dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Mizer's surviving works, which include photographs, slides, negatives, and films. Based in San Francisco, this nonprofit organization hosts regular art exhibits, in-person/online film screenings, and lectures by experts in male physique culture. Learn more and donate at www.bobmizer.org.
Corbin Crable
Chief Communications Officer
corbin@bobmizer.org