NEW YORK – 10 JUNE 2025 – Phillips is pleased to announce Tom of Finland as the featured artist for its June 2025 Drop. The two-color lithograph entitled Hunting will be the first time-limited edition ever to be offered on the platform. Working from a rare surviving proof preserved in Tom of Finland Foundation’s collection, Phillips partnered with Los Angeles-based master printmaker Cirrus Editions to enlarge and transfer the image to new lithographic plates, allowing the previously unreleased image to be reproduced. Priced at $600 each, the prints will be available for purchase via dropshop.phillips.com beginning 17 June at 10AM ET until 10AM ET on 1July.

In partnership with Tom of Finland Foundation, a portion of funds from the Drop will be donated to the Foundation’s variety of arts programs, including its Artist-in-Residence Program, which provides an immersive experience for visiting artists to cultivate their freedom of expression, nurture their emerging talent, and build new levels of support for their artistic practices in a historic, inspiring context.

Tom of Finland, born Touko Valio Laaksonen, is celebrated for his groundbreaking contributions to Gay culture and art. His highly stylized, homoerotic illustrations of hypermasculine men challenged and subverted stereotypes of the day, offering instead a bold, joyful representation of Gay identity. His work not only influenced the aesthetic of late 20th-century Gay culture but also played a significant role in the broader acceptance and visibility of LGBTQ+ community.

In Hunting , the artist uses a two-toned composition to create a sense of depth and heightened intrigue between the two figures. Here the artist sets into motion an evocative scene that captures the essence of his artistic universe, where sexuality is affirmed and celebrated. Although best known for his ink, pencil, and pastel drawings, Tom experimented with using linocut printmaking a few times in the 1980s and intentionally selected compositions that enabled anyone, in his words, “to have them on view when mother comes on a visit.” Christine Miele, Phillips’ Retail Sales Director, Ecommerce, said, “Coinciding with Pride Month, we’re delighted to partner with Tom of Finland Foundation to produce Hunting , the first time-limited edition we’ve ever offered on the platform.

Tom of Finland’s portrayals of Gay men were revolutionary at the time that he was working in the mid- to late-20th century. Today his work is iconic as ever because the particular aesthetic that he helped define in the last century is still recognizable today. We look forward to releasing the print on 17 June and celebrating Tom of Finland’s legacy within the community he depicted so vibrantly.” “Rarely, throughout history, can you find an artist like Tom of Finland–whose art and imagery is as socially-relevant when it was created, as it is today.

Tom’s art continues to be a source of strength and identity to LGBTQ+ people of all ages, from around the world,” said David Aldea, Collector and Tom of Finland Foundation Treasurer of the Board of Directors.

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ABOUT THE ARTIST

Tom of Finland (Touko Laaksonen, 1920–1991) is widely regarded as one of the twentieth century’s most influential artists for his groundbreaking representation of the male figure. In his youth, Tom trained at an advertising school, but what he would come to call his “dirty drawings,” which he first began developing as a teenager, were the true focus of his attention, both during this formative period and throughout the entirety of his life. These masterful renderings of virile men engrossed in acts of homoerotic desire can be approached along several interpretative lines—art historical, social, technical—but each of them points to the revolutionary nature of his project. A master draftsman, whose passion for both his medium and his subject matter enabled him to become a powerful cultural force, Tom gave form to an imaginative universe that in turn helped fuel real-world liberation movements and enabled Gay men to access their strength in new ways. Tom’s drawings reaffirm the centrality of sexuality, joy, and the body in all areas of human endeavor.

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ABOUT TOM OF FINLAND FOUNDATION

Tom of Finland Foundation was established in 1984 to preserve Tom’s vast catalog of work. Over time, the organization’s mission expanded to provide a safe haven for LGBTQ+ artists in response to widespread discrimination and censorship of art that portrays sexual behavior or generates asexual response. Today, building on its history of advocating for and collecting artwork by LGBTQ+ artists who draw inspiration from their sexuality, identity, and experience, the Foundation continues to inspire future generations of artists and audiences to investigate their personal and creative expression without censorship. Through stewarding its collection of artworks by more than 700 artists of all genders and sexual orientations, offering mentorship through its Artist-in-Residency Program at historic TOM House in Los Angeles, and hosting a variety of public initiatives and programs, the Foundation champions creative expression and empowers artists to share their unique voices with the world helping to ensure that Tom’s artistic legacy positively impacts current and future generations of LGBTQ+ artists. Tom of Finland Foundation is a501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization under California law.