Dismayed by horrified reactions to announcements of his transformation, Bess became increasingly withdrawn and depressed. Furthermore, numerous physical and psychological problems plagued him during the later years of his life. His nose had become cancerous, and he had to have a substantial part of it removed in 1966. Because of his skin cancer, he was forced to retire from his bait business in Chinquapin and move to a house in Bay City, where he could be cared for by relatives.

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In 1973 and again in 1974, Bess was arrested for disruptive behavior in public. After he suffered a stroke in 1974, his brother committed him to San Antonio Mental Hospital and, subsequently, to Bay Villa Nursing Home, where he lived until his death on November 11, 1977.

Despite the difficulties of his later years, Bess continued to paint until 1974, and his artistic powers remained undiminished by his harsh experiences. In 1988 and 1989, major retrospective exhibitions of his work at Hirschl and Adler Modern Gallery, New York; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; and the Museum Ludwig, Cologne helped to stimulate interest in his work. Since then, his unique, poetic works belatedly have begun to receive the critical acclaim that they merit.

Prior to Stonewall, most gay artists were closeted, but they were inventive in creating codes for those in the know; after 1945 some adventurous artists developed independent networks for the distribution of works of gay art.

Patronage--the sponsorship of artists and the commissioning of works from them--has remained a significant factor in the creation of queer visual culture in the modern era.

A figure of uncertain gender in whom identifying sexual characteristics are stylized or combined, the androgyne is a significant and recurrent subject in art, one that has often held special significance for glbtq people.

American artist and gallery owner Betty Parsons retreated into the closet after World War II, but her support of gay, lesbian, and bisexual artists during a time of repression and her later candor are important contributions to glbtq history.