Visit Casa Susanna, a secret house of trans women in the 1960s
©Art Gallery of Ontario, Andrea Susan (attributed to), Susanna by the Casa Susanna sign, Hunter, NY, 1964-1968. Gelatin silver print, 8.3 x 11 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. 2014/714
Twenty years ago, an incredible discovery was made in a New York flea market. A trove of photos from decades ago was uncovered, depicting a hidden network of gender-nonconforming people living freely and happily. Those images, supplemented with extra photos, as well as excerpts from Transvestia, an early magazine geared towards a trans audience, make up the forthcoming book, Casa Susanna: The Story of the First Trans Network in the United States, 1959-1968.
Curators Isabelle Bonnet and Sophie Hackett serve as authors of the extraordinary tome, which brings to life a daring and jubilant group of individuals lost to time. Casa Susanna was a real home in the Catskills region of New York, where gender rebels and trans women gathered and expressed their identities freely — if only for just a fleeting moment of time.
Take a sneak peek at Casa Susanna, which is available May 28 from Thames & Hudson and features an introduction by University of Arizona gender and women’s studies professor Susan Stryker. Find out more here.
©Collection of Cindy Sherman, Anita, Gloria, and Susanna in Susanna and Marie's New York City apartment, 1960-1963.9 × 9 cm. Collection of Cindy Sherman
©Art Gallery of Ontario, Lee in a white dress, Chevalier d'Eon, Hunter, NY, October 1961. 12.1 x 8.3 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. 2014/721
©Art Gallery of Ontario, Lili on the diving board, Casa Susanna, Hunter, NY, September 1966. 12.8 × 9 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. 2014/717
©Art Gallery of Ontario, Susanna by the Chevalier d'Eon sign, Hunter, NY, November 1960. 12.6 x 8.9 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. 2014/884
©Collection of Cindy Sherman, Susanna and two friends on the swing set, Chevalier d’Eon, Hunter, NY, November 1960. 6 × 9 cm. Collection of Cindy Sherman
©Art Gallery of Ontario, Edith Eden, Audrey, Edith and Irene in the front yard, Chevalier d'Eon, Hunter, NY, 1960-1963. Gelatin silver print, 8.8 x 11.2 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. 2014/785
©Art Gallery of Ontario, Susanna and Felicity in the kitchen, Chevalier d'Eon, Hunter, NY, 1960-1963. 6.4 x 8.4 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. 2014/751
©Art Gallery of Ontario, Andrea Susan (attributed to), Dinner with Virginia Prince, Gloria, Audrey, Lee, Felicity, and Anita, Halloween at the Chevalier d’Eon, Hunter, NY, October 1961. 8.3 × 12.1 cm.Art Gallery of Ontario. 2014/718
©Collection of Cindy Sherman, Susanna in front of Casa Susanna, Hunter, NY, 1964-1965. 22.5 x 14.5 cm. Collection of Cindy Sherman
©Art Gallery of OntarioAndrea Susan (attributed to), Daphne sitting on a lawn chair with Ann, Susanna and a friend outside, Casa Susanna, Hunter, NY, 1964-1968. 8.9 ×10.8 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. 2014/820.
©Art Gallery of OntarioAndrea Susan (attributed to), Photo shoot with Lili, Wilma, and friends, Casa Susanna (detail), Hunter, NY, 1964-1967. 8.4 × 10.8 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. 2014/724
