Atwood's second photography book and exhibition, Kings & Queens in Their Castles, has been called one of the most ambitious photo series ever conducted of the LGBTQ experience in the USA. Over 15 years, Atwood photographed more than 350 subjects at home nationwide (with over 160 in the book), including nearly 100 luminaries (with about 60 in the book). With individuals from about 30 states, Atwood offers a window into the lives and homes of some of America's most intriguing and eccentric personalities.
Modern day tableaux vivants, the images portray whimsical, intimate moments of daily life that shift between the pictorial and the theatrical. Among the luminaries depicted in this second book are:
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Meredith Baxter – Actress from Family Ties, All the President's Men, Glee, Family
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Alan Cumming – Tony-winning actor from Hamlet, Macbeth, Cabaret
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Don Lemon – CNN Anchor
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George Takei – Actor from Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, Star Wars, Heroes
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Barney Frank – Former US Congressman and chair of Financial Services Committee
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Greg Louganis – Olympic diver and gold medal winner
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Michael Urie – Actor from Ugly Betty, The Good Wife, Partners, Modern Family
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Terrence McNally – Tony and Emmy-winning writer and playwright
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Ari Shapiro – Co-host of NPR's All Things Considered
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Kate Clinton – Comedian and actress from The L Word
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John Waters – Director of Pink Flamingos, Polyester, Hairspray, Pecker, Serial Mom
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Don Bachardy – Acclaimed artist and former partner of Christopher Isherwood
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Tommy Tune – Ten time Tony-winning performer and National Medal of Arts winner
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Alison Bechdel – Cartoonist, MacArthur Genius Grant winner and author of Fun Home
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Jonathan Adler – Designer and homeware magnate
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Elizabeth Streb – Acclaimed choreographer
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Rufus Wainwright – Award-winning singer and songwriter
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Julie Mehretu and Jessica Rankin – Renowned artists
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Joel Schumacher – Director of Phantom of the Opera, Batman & Robin, St. Elmo’s Fire
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Bruce Vilanch – Emmy-winning celebrity from Hollywood Squares
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Arthur Tress – Renowned photographer
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Mark Takano – US Congressman
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Leslie Jordan – Actor from The Help, Sordid Lives, Will & Grace, Boston Legal, Newhart
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Neda Ulaby – NPR arts correspondent
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Billy Porter – Tony-winning actor from Kinky Boots, Jesus Christ Superstar
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Jim McGreevey – Former New Jersey Governor
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Randal Kleiser – Director of Grease, Grandview U.S.A., Big Top Pee-wee, The Blue Lagoon
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John Berendt – Author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, The City of Falling Angels
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Christine Vachon – Producer of Still Alice, Boys Don't Cry, Far from Heaven, I Shot Andy Warhol
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John Corigliano – Grammy and Pulitzer-winning composer
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Anthony Rapp – Actor from Rent, Dazed and Confused, Psych, The X-Files, A Beautiful Mind
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Charles Busch – Playwright and author of Tale of the Allergist's Wife, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom
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Heather Matarazzo – Actress from The Princess Diaries, Sisters, ER, Strangers with Candy
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Dan Savage – Columnist and media pundit
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Simon Doonan – Television personality and Barneys NY creative director
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Michael Musto – Village Voice columnist and television personality
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Felice Picano – Author of Nights at Rizzoli, Art & Sex in Greenwich Village
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Carson Kressley – Bravo and OWN television host
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Steve Kmetko – CBS reporter and E! Entertainment anchor
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Christian Siriano – Project Runway winner
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Annise Parker– Houston Mayor
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Madison Hildebrand – Star of Million Dollar Listing
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Bishop Gene Robinson – First out gay bishop
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Ria Pell – Chef from Top Chef and winner of Chopped
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Anthony Goicolea – Artist
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David Moretti – Actor from House of Cards, The Lair, Scrooge & Marley, Arizona
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Mark Adamo – Acclaimed opera composer
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Doug Spearman – Actor from Charmed, Star Trek Voyager, Noah's Arc, Girlfriends
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Jay McCarroll – Project Runway winner
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Neil Giuliano – Former Tempe Mayor and president of GLAAD
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Marc Anthony Samuel – Actor from Imperfect Sky, Avenged, Parenthood
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Laura Flanders – Journalist and Air America Radio host
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Darryl Stephens – Actor from Undressed, Noah's Arc, Desperate Housewives
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Frank Marino – Longest-running headliner on the Strip, dubbed "Ms. Las Vegas"
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Christopher Rice – Author of six bestselling novels and co-host of The Dinner Party Show
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Martyn Lawrence-Bullard – Star of Million Dollar Decorators, Hollywood Me
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Erin McKeown – Award-winning singer
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George Kotsiopoulos – Co-host of Fashion Police and correspondent for MSNBC
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Jess Cagle – Editorial director of People Magazine and Entertainment Weekly
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Arnold Myint – Drag performer and chef from Top Chef
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Bruce Cohen – Producer of American Beauty, The Nines, Big Fish, The Forgotten, Milk
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Josh Flagg – Star of Million Dollar Listing
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John Ashbery – Pulitzer-winning Poet Laureate of New York
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And many others
Alongside artists, fashion designers, beekeepers, actors, politicians, directors, activists, farmers, journalists, writers, athletes, students, religious leaders, drag queens, bankers, chefs, bartenders, musicians, doctors, innkeepers, dancers, professors, playwrights and socialites, Atwood features a cartoonist, barista, poet, comedian, navy technician and paleontologist. As well as urban bohemians, beatniks, mavericks and iconoclasts, many of whom seem to be slowly disappearing.
All images from the series are available as 18" or 26" prints in editions of ten
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Publisher: Damiani (Italy)
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Distributors: DAP (Artbook), Thames & Hudson
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ISBN: 978-88-6208-516-8
144 pages, 135 color images
9 ¾ x 12 ½ inches, 24.8 x 31.8 cm
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Hardbound with gold hot-stamping of cover text, gold metallic endpapers
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Read Artist's Statement
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Purchase Books or Prints
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“Atwood's work is at once evocative of both early European master paintings and old Hollywood cinematography. Atwood meticulously composes each image to convey that we and our homes are a unified fabric.”
– Yossi Milo, Yossi Milo Gallery
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“Refreshing clarity and modesty.”
– The New Yorker
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"Pictures alive with imagination, detail and beauty. He turns his gaze to some of the most creative and influential cultural leaders of our time."
– Annie Philbin, Director of Hammer Museum
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“It’s easy to get drawn in by Kings & Queens in Their Castles… Atwood turns the culture of celebrity and architecture into something that goes beyond portraiture.”
– Los Angeles Times
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"The access Tom Atwood tirelessly worked to achieve is absolutely astonishing. With charm, pizzazz, and sheer determination, Atwood captures the intimate lives of many of the most fascinating and respected members of our LGBTQ community. Bravo!"
– Brian Clamp, ClampArt
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“A studied mélange of portraiture and architectural photography.”
– Washington Post
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“Complex... sincere... enchanting... frequently wonderful.”
– The Art Newspaper
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“Tom Atwood is something of a master [with] acute instinct for conveying the resonance between portrait subjects and the objects and places that help communicate the texture of their lives... Kings & Queens in Their Castles is inspirational and essential for the library of every serious portrait shooter... The pictures are brilliant imaginative environmental portraits [with] evocative visual clues, both empirical and symbolic.”
– Rangefinder Magazine
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“Vivid portraits… flying in the face of stereotypes.”
– San Francisco Chronicle
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“Inviting... odd... intriguing.”
– Denver Post
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“Remarkable environmental portraits... An important historical collection for future generations.”
– Lenscratch Magazine
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“Fascinating... Atwood has a good sense of timing, and an eye for natural, unguarded gesture, as well as for nuance and symmetry... Atwood raises empathy and understanding by humanizing everyone he photographs.”
– PDN Magazine
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“Intimate photographs... [offering] insight into private lives and personalities.”
– New York Magazine
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“Marvelous photographs that capture our idiosyncrasies and obsessions.”
– Tony Kushner, Playwright
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"Immense depth and richness, like a monumental series of biographies.”
– Andrew Lear, Harvard University
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“Icons in stunning color.”
– Huffington Post
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“The most ambitious photo series ever conducted of the LGBTQ experience in the USA.”
– The Photo Review
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"Imagination, energy and eccentricity."
– Art Ltd. Magazine
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"Brilliantly illustrated."
– Chicago Free Press
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"An outstanding achievement in environmental portraiture. Atwood portrays his subjects with passion and grace, giving royal treatment to both the glamorous and the chaotic."
– Moisés Kaufman, Playwright
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“Breathtaking.”
– Washington Blade
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“Arguably one of the most committed photographers in the country.”
– Advocate Magazine
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