LLOYD LOZES GOFF
AMERICAN, 1917–1982
Lloyd Lozes Goff. "Untitled (Reclining Leather Man)". 1969. Oil on paper. Offered in AFTER DARK on 28 April 2026.
NOTE: The following article is NSFW and includes images of sex and artistic nudity.
Lloyd Lozes Goff (1917–1982) was born in Dallas, Texas, in 1917. Goff began his art training under the famous cattle driver turned painter Frank Reaugh (one of the founders of the Dallas Art Society, later the Dallas Museum of Art). Reaugh had a significant impact on Goff’s choice of early painting subjects, and would continue to have a stylistic influence on Goff’s later works. [1] Starting in 1932, Goff would begin to see success as an artist in association with the “Dallas Nine”, a group of Dallas artists, active between 1928 and 1945, named after the “Nine Young Dallas Artists” exhibition at Fair Park. [2][3] From 1936–1940, Goff would study at the Art Students League in New York City, while also frequently returning to the American Southwest as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA)’s Federal Art Project (1935–1943).
Lloyd Lozes Goff. Study for an Enlistment Scene. Coming soon in AFTER DARK June 2026.
While working for the WPA, Goff produced his own murals within the western genre, as well as a series of collaborative murals with other WPA artists. Most notably, Goff worked closely with Paul Cadmus on the United States Embassy mural in Ottawa, Reginald Marsh's frescoes in the U.S. Custom House in New York City, and Edward Laning's murals at the New York Public Library. [4] During this time, Goff became a close friend of many gay WPA artists, including Paul Cadmus and Jared French, who he kept in regular contact with throughout his later years. The bond between Cadmus and Goff in particular was such that, on Cadmus’ death, Goff was bequeathed a large portion of Cadmus’ work and personal collection. Many of the etchings and drawings now present in museums such as the Dallas Museum of Art were acquired as gifts through Goff. [5]
Lloyd Lozes Goff. "Untitled (Leather Man with Bare Ass)." 1969. Oil on paper. Offered in AFTER DARK on 28 April 2026.
By the end of the Federal Art Project, Goff had become a widely known and accomplished painter, particularly within the American Southwest. In 1944, Goff would begin to teach at the University of New Mexico, acting as the Head of the Art Department until 1947.[6] While his traditional western paintings were part of his public oeuvre, Goff produced an extensive array of homoerotic works for himself and his close friends within the WPA.
Lloyd Lozes Goff. One of five drawings for the "Rake's Progress Series". 1969-1970. Graphite on paper. Signed by the artist with his pseudonym, "Jack Koff". Offered in AFTER DARK on 6 November 2025
Closer to the end of his life, in the mid-late 1970s, Goff also began to produce drafts for a series of homoerotic scenes under the pseudonym, "Jack Koff", although it is unknown whether such works were ever published. While traditional western paintings by Goff are present at major institutions and collections, such as the Whitney Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Dallas Museum of Art, very few of his homoerotic works are known to exist in collections beyond the artist's estate.
Goff’s works have been widely exhibited at many acclaimed institutions, including the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the New Mexico Museum of Art, and the Dallas Museum of Art. His works can now be found in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the New Mexico Museum of Art and the Dallas Museum of Art.
Notes
[1] Falk, Peter. Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975. Vol. II: G-O. Madison, CT: Sound View Press, 1999. p. 1310.
[2] Swank, Patsy. “Art: A Picture of the Dallas Nine.” D Magazine, November 1, 1996. https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/1996/november/art-a-picture-of-the-dallas-nine/.
[3] Exhibition, Lone Star Regionalism: The Dallas Nine and Their Circle, 1928–1945. Dallas Museum of Art. Dallas, Texas. February 3rd, 1985 – July 10th, 1988.
[4] Falk, Peter. Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975. Vol. II: G-O. Madison, CT: Sound View Press, 1999. p. 1310.
[5] Digital Catalogue Entry, YMCA Locker Room, Paul Cadmus. Dallas Museum of Art. Credit Line. https://dma.org/art/collection/object/4273773.
[6] Falk, Peter. Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975. Vol. II: G-O. Madison, CT: Sound View Press, 1999. p. 1310.
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Alex Burgamy
AFTER DARK Specialist, LGBTQ+ Fine Art
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