Chuck Arnett

Charles "Chuck" Arnett (February 15, 1928 – March 2, 1988) was an American visual artist and dancer who was born in Bogalusa, Louisiana, and died in San Francisco. His best-known work is the Tool Box mural.

Biography Arnett grew up in Bogalusa and New Orleans, with him later claiming New Orleans as his hometown. He danced in the local ballet successfully for several seasons. In 1951, he moved to New York City to better pursue the career he wanted to make for himself in the world of professional dance. Arriving with letters of introduction and names of people to contact from his time as a dancer in New Orleans, he quickly settled into the life of those in Manhattan who referred to themselves as "theatrical gypsies."

In the next few years, his time was divided between the best dance classes he could get enrolled into, practice, auditioning for parts, and rehearsing and then performing on the stage. He then performed for some time with the National Ballet of Canada; the time he spent with the National Ballet was the only full-time, permanent employment he would ever hold in his life.

In the early 1960s, Arnett assisted Dom Orejudos in creating murals for the Gold Coast bar in Chicago. In late 1962, Arnett moved to San Francisco. The Tool Box was one of the first bars in the city catering specifically to the leather community and gay motorcycle clubs.

Beginning in 1962 Arnett painted a series of life-size murals inside the Tool Box depicting a wide cross-section of gay society. the Balcony, the Red Star Saloon and a psychedelic black light mural for The Stud. Over his career he depicted a wide variety of subject matter in his art, ranging from astrology to fisting. and exhibited at Fey-Way Studios.

Samuel Steward tattooed Arnett in the 1960s.

One busy night Rudolf Nureyev came into the Tool Box with several men obviously from the opera house where he was performing. He was seated at the bar and with many people watching, removed the coat he had on, revealing a leather jacket, to applause. Arnett brought his drink, a cognac, in the best glass the house could provide, and when he finished it and left, Arnett took the glass.

Arnett died on March 2, 1988, in San Francisco from AIDS. including a black granite stone etched with a narrative by Gayle Rubin and a reproduction of Arnett's Tool Box mural. and GLBT Historical Society, including one of the Tool Box murals.

In 2006, historian Jack Fritscher wrote: "If there is a gay Mount Rushmore of four great pioneer pop artists, the faces would be Chuck Arnett, Etienne, A. Jay, and Tom of Finland."In 2012, the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts exhibited a recreation of Arnett's Tool Box mural.