LOVING: Photographs of Men in Love 1850s – 1950s

29 May 2026 – 30 June 2026

Drawn from the archive of Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell, partners and collectors based in New York, the photographs in LOVING: Photographs of Men in Love 1850s – 1950s were gathered over 25 years from flea markets, antique stores, family albums and online auctions. What began as a single photo found in Dallas in the 1990s, an image that captured what Nini and Treadwell described as the ‘unmistakeable look of love’, has grown into an archive of over 4,000 photographs spanning Europe, Asia, North America and Australia.

These images capture everyday moments between men in love.  Holding hands, embracing, posing cheek to cheek, captured at a time when same-sex relationships were often illegal or unspoken. While the identities of most couples remain unknown, their expressions of love are evident. LOVING is both a remembrance and a celebration, a reminder to younger generations to never take freedom and equality for granted, and a tribute to the universal truth that love, in all its forms, is the foundation of human dignity and life.

This exhibition is presented in association with the Delegation of the European Union to Australia and the Victorian Pride Centre.