Tony Sansone: An American Pioneer

'The Most Beautiful Man in America.'

Charles Atlas 

I love profiling the pioneers of male nude and physique photography, the artists and models who paved the way.  On Canada Day, I featured Can-Art Studio, but for The Fourth of July, I'm going a little further back.  Most of the artists and models I've featured in 'vintage' posts, worked in the 40's, 50's and 60's, but male physique model Tony Sansone's career started almost a a century ago in the 1920's.

Born in New York in 1905,  Sansone's parent were both Sicilian immigrants. As a child, Sansone developed scarlet fever, leaving him with a fragile build.  At 14, Sansome took an interest in sports and began working out at a park near h is home.  Since there weren't gyms on every corner in the 1920's, Sansome did chin-ups, handstands and other exercises and acrobatics in the park.  At the age of 16, he came across magazine pictures of physique models and became interested in physical fitness and development.  Soon Sansome was training, including under the guidance of bodybuilder Charles Atlas.

In 1923, when he was still just 18, Sansone won a physique contest that was sponsored by Atlas.  Despite his success, Sansone never pursued completive bodybuilding,  his fame in the bodybuilding industry was mostly the result of his modeling success.   Sansone began modeling the same year, and found he could profit from selling pictures of himself through mail-order ads.  He was soon a sought after model, posing for paintings, photographers and sculptures. 

Sansone by George Platt Lynes

Below: Sansone at Chester Beach's sculpture 'Sun, Mist and Sea' 1930

Sansone certainly wasn't the first male physique model, but he was one of the most iconic, and one of the first men to become famous, and carve out a career from modeling fully nude.  With the success of his mail-order business, Sansone soon began modeling for male physique magazines and catalogs.  Sansone appeared on the covers of magazines in America, Canada and Europe.  

Sansone's modeling success allowed him to branch out, publishing several photo books,. By 1936, he had sold over 15,000 copies of  his books, including his most famous book, Modern Classics. In addition to his nudes, Sansone was also known for his creative posing,  the focus of many of his books. 

Sansone also studied dance, and though a knee injury cut his dance career short, his dance training was a strong influence with his style of posing.  Many of the shots featured here were taken by Edwin F. Townsend who became Sansone's principal photographer after meeting, and shooting him in 1929.

In the late 1920's, Sansone also dipped into the acting world, but it was fitness that remained his primary passion. Sansone owned and operated three gyms (which he referred to as 'body culture studios;) in New York City. Bodybuilder Steve Reeves was among his customers.   

Although he did lift weights, building muscle was never Sansone's primary goal. Sansone was more focused on fitness and maintaining his 6' body's lean frame.  Upon retirement, Sansome continued to work, but this time focused on volunteering, especially teaching underprivileged children.