Fences

Artist Paul Cadmus (1904 - 1999)

Date1946

MediumTempera on board

Dimensions10 3/4 x 9 3/4 in. (27.3 x 24.8 cm)
Framed: 17 × 16 in.

ClassificationsPainting

Credit LinePromised Gift to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas

Signedverso, u.c., in ink: FENCES / painted in / egg yolk tempera / by / Paul Cadmus / 1946 verso, u.l., in ink: FENCES / painted in / egg - tempera / by / Paul Cadmus / 1946 [on old backing paper; removed from verso]

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LGBTQ+ Artists

Label TextCadmus painted his long-time partner, Jared French, as an elongated nude figure standing against a pole on a beach on Fire Island, New York. Storm clouds hover above his head. A lone figure lies in the sand nearby. A winding and wind-beaten fence, echoing the shifting sands of the beach, binds these elements together. Influenced by Surrealism, the scene feels dreamlike, erotic, and melancholic. Critics often referred to Cadmus’s work as “magical realism,” a style that conveyed a fantastical sensibility in its subject material.

Cadmus garnered a lot of controversy throughout his long and storied career. Known for his paintings and drawings of semi-nude or nude male figures in sexually-charged homoerotic scenes, his work often conveyed an element of social critique. Cadmus would often say he just painted what he saw.
Inscribedverso, l.l., in ink: Gelatine 1oz-15oz water / [illegible] only – slightly more than 1 part to 1 part size / August 1943 4 Coats
verso, u.l., on frame: [illegible] 1987 / notations on board / board signed on back
verso, c.l., in ink: [illegible] August 1943 4 Coats [on old backing paper; removed from verso]
Markingsverso, on frame: [D. Matt Hand Carved Picture Frames label]
verso, on frame: EAMP / 075 No 8598 / NOP / 3V3XK [barcode number] / Two works by Paul Cadmus
verso, u.l., on label: #5584 / 1332 [attached to old backing paper; removed from verso]
verso, u.l., on label: Name: M. / Receipt & Item No. / M053642 - / 1143 Disposition: / VOID [attached to old backing paper; removed from verso]
verso, c.l., on label: [Whitney Museum label for Cadmus, French, and Tooker: The Early Years February 28 - May 5, 1990 label; attached to old backing paper; removed from verso]
verso, l.l., on label: [Hudson River Museum label for Paul Cadmus: Yesterday & Today May 20 - July 11, 1982 ; attached to old backing paper; removed from verso]
verso, u.r., on label: [Miami University Art Museum label for Paul Cadmus: Yesterday and Today; attached to old backing paper; removed from verso]
verso, l.r., on label: [Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art label for Paul Cadmus: Yesterday and Today November 11 - December 20, 1981; attached to old backing paper; removed from verso]