L'Enfant (poster)

L'enfant, better known as Man and Baby[1] is a 1987 photographic poster depicting a shirtless male model (Adam Perry) holding a young baby. The image, conceived by Paul Rodriguez was photographed by Spencer Rowell and published in the 1980s by British company Athena Posters.[2] The photograph was said to herald the "sensitive but sexy New Man" aesthetic.[1]

L'Enfant
Man and Baby
ArtistSpencer Rowell
Completion date26 May 1986 (1986-05-26)
MediumPhotographic print
SubjectMonochrome studio shot of a semi-naked male model cradling a baby

In 2011 the poster became part of the V&A Print collection and can be viewed in the Prints and Drawings Study Room level C. V&A, London and is published on p. 58 British Posters. Advertising, Art and Activism (Flood., C. V&A: 2012)[3]

In a 2004 British television documentary about L'Enfant, The Model, the Poster and 3,000 Women, Perry claimed that as a result of his poster fame he had slept with 3,000 women. The programme also identified the baby as Greek-Cypriot Stelios Havatzios. Stelios currently lives in Limassol, Cyprus with his family and works as a lawyer.[1] In 2013, Havatzios appeared as the Mystery Guest on The Big Fat Quiz of the '80s. Perry, who was paid £100 for the photo shoot, worked as a London-based carpenter in 2007.[1]

Senator Josh Hawley once hung the photo over his dorm room bed at Stanford.[4]

Further reading
  • Gill, Rosalind (April 2009). "Beyond the "Sexualization of Culture" thesis: an intersectional analysis of "sixpacks", "midriffs" and "hot lesbians" in advertising". Sexualities. 12 (2): 137–160. doi:10.1177/1363460708100916. S2CID 144941660.

See also

References
  1. Milmo, Cahal (16 January 2007). "The curse of 'Man and baby': Athena, and the birth of a legend". The Independent. London.
  2. Jackson, Peter; Stevenson, Nick; Brooks, Kate (2001). Making sense of men's magazines. Cambridge: Polity Press. p. 185. ISBN 9780745621760.
  3. "L'Enfant | Spencer Rowell". Explore the Collections. Victoria and Albert Museum. 9 October 1986. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
  4. Plott, Elaina; Hakim, Danny (8 March 2021). "Josh Hawley is 'Not Going Anywhere.' How Did He Get Here?". The New York Times.


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