True, she liked her animals–cats, bunnies, whatever–to show some attitude. But while you’d think that such a propensity would carry over to her human subjects, it largely did not. The more colorful they got, the more reservedly she treated them. It’s as if everyone was a favorite niece or nephew who’d dropped by for a visit, and might as well do a sitting while they chatted.
![#17 [annexgalleries]](http://www.stanwashburn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Van-Hoesen-17-annexgalleries.files_.jpg)
In 1965 she published a suite of twenty-five etchings titled “Nude Men.” They are not glamorous, and certainly not sensational; they are straightforward portraits of men she knew and could persuade to pose for her unclothed.* She didn’t flatten tummies or downplay body hair. She was after lively, personality-based silhouettes and shapes and textures in all the variety exhibited by two dozen men. But there is no hint of naughtiness, and still less of ridicule about these pieces. She isn’t sniggering even a little.
!["Sister Penny Costal" [georgekrevskygallery.com]](http://www.stanwashburn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/van-Hoesen-Sister-Penny-Costal-1996georgekrevskygallery.com_.jpg)
* I didn’t get to know Beth till she’d moved on to other work, so she never asked me. I don’t know whether I regret this or not.
For more of these images, check out the show “Beth Van Hoesen: Portraits from the Castro” at the George Krevsky Gallery in San Francisco till March 1. Go to georgekrevskygallery.com .
For other work, see Beth Van Hoesen: Catalogue Raisonne of Limited-Edition Prints, Books, and Portfolios