Cadmus, Paul

Cadmus, Paul
▪ 2000

      American artist (b. Dec. 17, 1904, New York, N.Y.—d. Dec. 12, 1999, Weston, Conn.), created paintings, drawings, and prints in a figurative, near-illustrational style that he maintained consistently for some 70 years even when it was not in favour with the art establishment. His works of social satire could sometimes provoke controversy, and one in particular—The Fleet's In, which included prostitutes and gay men along with the sailors whose antics it portrayed and, as a result, infuriated navy officials—was pulled from an exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., in 1934 and was not displayed publicly again until 1981. Cadmus decided upon a career in art when he was still a young boy and enrolled in art classes at New York City's National Academy of Design when he was 15. He studied there until 1926 and at the Art Students League for the following two years and then went to work at an advertising agency. Between 1931 and 1933 he lived with artist Jared French. The two traveled to the island of Majorca, Spain, and there Cadmus created the well-known paintings Shore Leave and YMCA Locker Room. Upon his return to the U.S., Cadmus gained employment with the Public Works of Art Project. It was for that program that he painted The Fleet's In. The nationwide publicity that resulted from the controversy surrounding that painting and others—such as Coney Island, displayed at New York's Whitney Museum of American Art in 1935 and interpreted by Brooklyn, N.Y., realtors as an insult to their neighbourhood—as well as from the cancellation of Cadmus's contract for a post office mural project because of the sardonicism of the scenes he sketched in 1936, fascinated the public, and in 1937 more than 7,000 people attended his first one-man show, at Midtown Galleries in New York City. Although the post-World War II art world paid Cadmus little attention, he continued working steadily. His work was represented in most American art museums, and he was included in several prestigious group shows over the years. Among other of his notable works were Sailors and Floosies (1938), The Seven Deadly Sins series (1945–49), and the Subway Symphony series (1975–76). In 1980 Cadmus was made an academician of the National Academy of Design.

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▪ American artist
born Dec. 17, 1904, New York, N.Y., U.S.
died Dec. 12, 1999, Weston, Conn.

      American artist who created paintings, drawings, and prints in a figurative, near-illustrational style during a career that spanned some 70 years.

      Cadmus decided upon a career in art when he was still a young boy and enrolled in art classes at New York City's National Academy of Design (now the National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts) when he was 15. He studied there until 1926 and at the Art Students League for the following two years and then went to work at an advertising agency. Between 1931 and 1933 he lived with artist Jared French. The two traveled to the island of Majorca, Spain, and there Cadmus created the well-known paintings Shore Leave and YMCA Locker Room (both 1933).

      Upon his return to the United States, Cadmus gained employment with the Public Works of Art Project. It was for that program that he painted The Fleet's In! (1934), a work of social satire that depicts sailors on shore leave and contains elements of prostitution, homoeroticism, and drunkenness. The work infuriated navy officials, and it was pulled from an exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., in 1934 and was not displayed publicly again until 1981. Controversy surrounded a number of Cadmus's other paintings—such as Coney Island (1934), displayed at New York City's Whitney Museum of American Art in 1935 and interpreted by Brooklyn, N.Y., realtors as an insult to their neighbourhood—and Cadmus's contract for a post office mural project was cancelled because of the sardonicism of the scenes he sketched in 1936. The resulting nationwide publicity fascinated the public, and in 1937 more than 7,000 people attended his first one-man show at Midtown Galleries in New York City.

      Although the post-World War II art world paid Cadmus little attention, he continued working steadily. His work was represented in most American art museums, and he was included in several prestigious group shows over the years. Among his other notable works were Sailors and Floosies (1938), The Seven Deadly Sins series (1945–49), and the Subway Symphony series (1975–76). In 1980 Cadmus was made an academician of the National Academy of Design.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Cadmus, Paul — (12/17/1904 New York 1999) (USA)    Painter, costume designer, draughtsman, and etcher. Studied at National Academy of Design and Art Students League. Generally considered a Magic Realist painter, he largely worked in egg tempera. His male nudes… …   Dictionary of erotic artists: painters, sculptors, printmakers, graphic designers and illustrators

  • Paul Cadmus — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Paul Cadmus nació en Nueva York el 17 de diciembre de 1904 y falleció en Weston …   Wikipedia Español

  • Paul Cadmus — Paul Cadmus, 1937, par Carl Van Vechten. Paul Cadmus, né le 17 décembre 1904 à New York et décédé le 12 décembre 1999 à Weston dans le Conn …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Paul Cadmus — (* 17. Dezember 1904 in New York City; † 12. Dezember 1999 in Weston, Connecticut) war ein US amerikanischer Maler. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben und Wirken 2 Ausbildung 3 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Cadmus (disambiguation) — Cadmus may have a number of meanings:*Cadmus, in Greek mythology the son of the Phoenician king of Tyre and brother of Europa *Mount Cadmus, a mountain in Asia Minor *Project Cadmus, a government organization in DC Comics *Cadmus of Miletus, a… …   Wikipedia

  • Paul Westfield — is a fictional DC Comics character. He appeared in Superman in numerous occasions and contributed in creating Superboy, and Auron (comics). He was first thought to have been Superboy s genetic donor but later it was discovered that Superboy was… …   Wikipedia

  • Paul Cadmus — Infobox Artist bgcolour = #6495ED name = Paul Cadmus imagesize = caption = Cadmus photo taken by Carl Van Vechten, 1937 birthname = birthdate = birth date |1904|12|17| location = New York City, New York deathdate = death date and age… …   Wikipedia

  • Cadmus — /kad meuhs/, n. Paul, born 1904, U.S. painter and etcher. /kad meuhs/, n. Class. Myth. a Phoenician prince who introduced writing to the Greeks and who founded the city of Thebes in the company of five warriors. Cf. Sparti. * * * In Greek… …   Universalium

  • Cadmus — n. son of Agenor, Greek legendary hero, founder of the city of Thebes and creator of the Sparti (Greek Mythology); family name; Paul Cadmus (1904 1999), US etcher and painter; male first name …   English contemporary dictionary

  • Paul Cadmus — n. (1904 1999) United States etcher and painter …   English contemporary dictionary

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