GLR September-October 2023

and beautiful, male models. He had burst onto the scene at the perfect time. The “ Roaring Twenties ” were over turning the remnants of Victorianism, launching a new focus on lifestyles and fashion statements that ’ s still with us today. Madison Avenue realized that it could cajole consumers into new buy ing habits with images like the ones that Leyendecker was producing. This is where the story starts to get interesting. Leyendecker found a way to create ads for mainstream American buyers that contained a homoerotic subtext that ’ s quite apparent to our modern eyes. For instance, his ads for Ivory Soap feature naked soldiers and men checking each other out in the showers. Nor does the copy for these ads attempt to deflect their homoerotic imagery. A 1920 ad showing an am biguous male encounter on a train fea tures a tantalizing exchange. “ There is no other soap that satisfies me now, ”

working with phallic projectiles or, in one case, as the model for Lady Liberty on a poster for “ Liberty Bonds. ” Their big break came in 1905 when Cluett Peabody & Co. accepted Leyen decker ’ s pitch to create an icon for their detachable shirt collars: “ Not simply a handsome and manly man but the ideal American man, the Arrow Collar Man. ” Beach posed for these ads, and the Arrow Collar Man was born: hand some, preppy, and athletic, with a de sirable body underneath his clothing, exceptional poise, a chiseled face, and a chin that conveyed confidence and de termination. It was this image that in many ways defined not only male fash ion trends of his era but an image of a new, confident America. The Arrow Collar Man, the first sys tematic branding campaign in U.S. his tory, caught lightning in a bottle by leading the common man to believe that buying these inexpensive collars

“ Theman ” and “ The youth ” in a 1920 Ivory Soap ad.

one man says. Responds the other: “ It ’ s surprising how many of the traveling men I know carry it too. ” The model in another Ivory Soap ad sports what seems to be an erection [at left]. It was Whoopi Goldberg who made the owner of this painting aware of this detail. Since then, the owner has admitted that she can ’ t see anything else in the picture. Leyendecker was soon inundated with commissions, many of which he would pass on to Frank, who got tired of living in his brother ’ s shadow. Their destinies changed forever on a fate ful day in 1903 when Frank welcomed into the studio a gor geous Canadian, Charles Beach (1881 – 1954), who was offering his services as a model. Frank immediately recommended Beach to Joseph, who was blown away by Beach ’ s beauty and by his skill as a model, never talking or needing to rest. (Leyen decker avoided working from photographs, using live models such as actors John Barrymore and Fredric March, whom he coached to express emotions as a movie director would.) It was a case of opposites attracting. Leyendecker was 29, short, painfully shy, and given to stuttering. Charles was 22, 6-foot-2, and described as “ powerfully built and extraordinarily hand some — like an Ivy League athlete, with impeccable manners and always beautifully dressed. ” This was the beginning of a fifty-year partnership that would shape both of their lives and careers. Beach became Leyen decker ’ s manager, negotiating higher prices for his work and helping him to make the transition from a commercial illustra tor to a celebrated artist. Meanwhile, Joseph Leyendecker mo nopolized Beach as a model, which was a source of tension between the two brothers. When their father died in 1916, Beach moved into the family mansion in New Rochelle, replacing the brothers ’ older sister Mary Augusta as the family caretaker. She continued to manage Frank ’ s career but resented being replaced as Joseph ’ s confidante. Beach posed for sports pictures that college boys would put up in their rooms, and also for patriotic scenes of hunky sailors

and shirts would give him an air of civility and wealth. This alchemy between Beach ’ s looks and charm and Leyendecker ’ s artistry turned the Arrow Collar Man into a bona fide sex sym bol. Beach received more fan mail than movie star Rudolph

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