Notes

LITERATURE L. Kirstein, Paul Cadmus, New York, 1984, p. 136, illustrated (as Oak and Birch). L. Kirstein, Paul Cadmus, San Francisco, 1992, p. 137, illustrated (as Oak and Birch). Conditions of sale Brought to you by Quincie Dixon Associate Specialist, Head of Sale Check the condition report or get in touch for additional information about this QDIXON@CHRISTIES.COM +1 212 636 2141 VIEW CONDITION REPORT The collection Companions: A Collection of Works by Paul Cadmus Companions: A Collection of Works by Paul Cadmus offers a compelling overview of the artist’s oeuvre, highlighting both the technical precision and the deeply personal subject matter that defined his remarkable career. Lovingly assembled over a period of three decades by friends of the artist and his circle, the collection spans over 50 years of Cadmus’ brilliant artistic output from his exacting still lifes to his intimate portraits. Bruce Weber, Paul Cadmus in his studio, 1995. © Bruce Weber Born in New York City in 1904 to two professional artists, Cadmus was encouraged by his parents to pursue his artistic skills from a young age. In 1919, he left high school to enroll at the National Academy of Design where he learned to draw from plaster casts, training that anticipated his exquisite drawings from life. From 1928 to 1931, Cadmus worked as a commercial illustrator while continuing sketching classes. In this period he met Jared French, the magical realist artist who would become one of the most influential figures in his life both personally and professionally. After touring Europe together, Cadmus returned to the United States in 1933 and began creating paintings for the Works Progress Administration, which established him as a serious artist and started to earn him acclaim as well as notoriety for some of his more daring satirical works. In 1937, Cadmus was featured in his first solo exhibition at New York’s Midtown Galleries. Later in 1940, he discovered egg tempera, a traditional Renaissance medium made with egg yolk, which he employed in Two Boys on a Beach (Lot 82) and Winter Still Life (Lot 2). In 1944, he met George Tooker and introduced him to French and his wife Margaret, who Jared had recently married. The four formed a close-knit circle and strongly influenced one another’s work. In 1964, Cadmus would meet Jon Anderson, a former cabaret star, who would become Cadmus’ muse, primary model and life partner. Anderson posed for a series of nude drawings during the later years of Cadmus’ career, including lots 115 and 116. The two remained together until Cadmus’ death in 1999. Paul Cadmus and Jon Anderson, Weston, Connecticut, July 1976. Photograph James Chotas. With examples executed as early as 1936 and as late as 1992, Companions: A Collection of Works by Paul Cadmus offers a selection of works that reveal the duality of Cadmus’ practice skillfully oscillating between still life and figurative subjects, layered with personal meaning and unparalleled artistic merit. READ MORE OF THE COLLECTION