Andrew Durbin's new book, 'The Wonderful World that Almost Was,' is a double biography of painter and sculptor Paul Thek and photographer Peter Hujar. It chronicles their artistic maturation, their open and unapologetic gay relationship, and their central role in defining the 'cool' of the New York creative scene from the 1950s to the mid-1970s, before their deaths from AIDS.
The book matters because it rescues two influential but historically overlooked queer artists from obscurity. Durbin focuses on their vibrant lives and artistic integrity rather than framing them solely through the tragedy of their deaths, contributing to a contemporary revival of interest in their work and their impact on figures like Andy Warhol, Susan Sontag, and the broader cultural landscape.