Paul Cadmus
American, 1904-1999
Study for "Bar Italia"
INV-1034
Paul Cadmus
American, 1904-1999c. 1954
Study for "Bar Italia"
Paul Cadmus American, 1904-1999 →pen and ink drawingsdrawings (visual works)
Date
c. 1954
Medium
Pen and black ink, over graphite, on ivory tracing paper
Dimensions
31.8 × 38.1 cm (12 9/16 × 15 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Jalane and Richard Davidson Collection
Paul Cadmus was adept at both adapting the drawing techniques of the Old Masters and engaging contemporary viewers. He paid close attention to the relationships between the people he depicted, using such devices as eye contact or the direction of a gaze to suggest underlying meaning. His characters frequently display feelings of boredom or a distracted sexuality. In 1934 Cadmus achieved national celebrity when his painting The Fleet’s In! was removed by order of the Navy from a Public Works of Art Project exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., because it depicted a gay man seducing a willing sailor. Following this incident, his content became more suggestive than explicit.
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