Legends of Drag: An Archive In The Making

As teenagers growing up in Milwaukee, Harry James Hanson and Devin Antheus discovered their love for all things drag. “We were bored,” says Harry. “And there was nothing else to do.” Growing up near a movie theater that hosted a cult-classic-film-inspired social club, the two were inspired to start expressing their own creativity. “As teenagers, we dressed in drag and terrorized our neighborhood,” explains Harry.

The two kept in touch after high school, but both went their separate ways. Harry moved to New York City to pursue a career as an artist and creative director while Devin took off for the Bay Area where he works as a floral designer and spiritual worker. Still, despite being on opposite coasts, they continued to collaborate, especially when it came to projects that focused on their first love: drag. “For me, drag is the closest thing that I have to church,” explains Harry. “Or what I imagine church is like for people who are religious.”

In 2018, famed drag queen and visual artist Sasha Velour originally commissioned Harry to create four portraits of Drag Elders for a project she was working on. “As queer people, there is a dearth of elders for a number of reasons; the AIDS pandemic being a primary one,” says Harry. He immediately called Devin to do the styling of the shoots. The portrait project gained a ton of attention, including a digital feature in a top fashion magazine. It was then that Harry and Devin realized they could turn these four portraits into a much larger project.

After shooting the first four queens in San Francisco, Harry and Devin decided to expand the series to include more cities and more legends. They even made a special detour to Portland, OR to photograph Darcelle XV, who at 89, wears the crown for being the oldest and longest performing drag queen. 

And so, after shooting some truly iconic performers, the two officially launched their latest project: Legends of Drag. What began as a few portraits has now developed into a full-blown photobook production, sponsored by those who support their mission. If you’d like to make a contribution to the creation of this book, you can do so thanks to a sponsorship the team received from a non-profit organization serving the performing arts community. 

“We realized that this was a bigger project,” says Devin. “It’s true that one of our goals is to produce this book, but it’s even bigger than that. We’re trying to make a conscious intervention into the drag archive.” 

In order to accurately capture each queen, Harry and Devin work closely with them to make sure everything from their outfit, to the location, to the floral arrangement selected is reflective of their work and their persona. As a creative duo, both cite their friendship and shared aesthetic as a way of keeping the partnership productive. “When we’re shooting, we enter a trance state,” says Devin. “We basically read each other’s minds.”

Of course, as with live drag performances, production for the Legends of Drag team has been a bit of a challenge due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Harry and Devin have persevered, shooting the portraits outside and keeping the sets limited to the two of them plus their model. By paying the queens to pose, they also feel good about being able to provide some financial support for the community during a time when many have lost jobs with venues being temporarily or permanently shut down.

“In some ways, it’s been great to see how the queens are dismantling the commercialization of drag and drag performance,” says Harry, speaking about how many queens have created their own spaces online and on streaming platforms. “The venues are often about selling drinks - not fostering community. When you remove selling drinks from the equation, there is more room for creativity and fostering new ideas.”

To learn more about the Legends of Drag project or to see how you can support their efforts, visit their website or follow the team on social media.