A Nude Male Model in Scotland
“Bond. James Bond.”. You can hear the deep, manly voice of Sean Connery speaking those words, yes? But can you envision, like my mother has many times, the strapping, shirtless bod of Sir Sean? Well you can now. A long forgotten nude painting of Connery from 1952 has been discovered and will soon be going on display. The painting was found in the storage possessions of a recently deceased art instructor who was a former student at the Edinburgh College of Art in Scotland.
Before he became well-known as an actor, Sean Connery was a weightlifter and professional bodybuilder. He and some of his fellow bodybuilders posed for life classes at the Edinburgh school to make some extra bucks. Check out this article in the Daily Mail. Before my mother faints, I want her and all the ladies to know that Connery in the painting is wearing what appears to be a jock strap. So no full monty from 007. I think that was standard practice for life classes in the 1950s. I don’t believe male models went fully nude, in Europe or the US, until the 1970s or so.
Click the above links to see the painting. And here’s a photo of a very young, buff Sean Connery, in the middle, with his equally buff buddies. Nice abs 
And here is another male model who never starred in Dr. No or got to make out with Ursula Andress. It’s just Academic Study of a Man by Theodore Gericault:
