Entering the world of human beings plunges one immediately into a mixture of emotions....but whether uplifting or disgusting, these reactions spring from a vital source.
Paul Cadmus, Credo, 1937
The present work comes from a defining era in Paul Cadmus' personal and artistic life, right as he was coming into his mature style of the satirical, "magical realist" paintings he is known for. The drawing was also done while Cadmus was in Mallorca, Spain where he lived for two years with his lover and fellow artist Jared French.
In the late 1920s, Cadmus was working at an advertising agency in New York and taking classes in lithography at the Arts Student League; it was there that he met French, who is often credited with giving Cadmus the encouragement and confidence to become an artist and give up commercial illustration. In 1931, both men quit their jobs and with savings, embarked on a European trip together, biking through France and Spain, visiting museums and painting along the way.
One of their most important destinations for Cadmus was the Musée Ingres in Montauban; Ingres, along with many other old masters, heavily influenced Cadmus' draftsmanship and classical-inspired scenes of American life. In the present drawing by Cadmus, Pepe #B, one can see echoes of Ingres' sensuous use of line and the intimacy with which he depicted his subjects: often close-up, tactile and just on the surface of the work. Unlike the rousing, critical tone of much of his mature work, Pepe #B is striking in its hushed and tender presence. This same atmosphere is seen in one of Cadmus' earliest paintings, Jerry, a portrait of Jared French he completed in 1931, just after they arrived in Europe.
French and Cadmus arrived in Mallorca in December of 1931, residing in Port d'Andratx, a small fishing village. In an interview with the Smithsonian in 1988, Cadmus recalls that he didn't remember keeping a sketchbook or doing much drawing during the trip, but that he would sometimes draw the villagers and fisherman "on newsprint, which is terrible paper." He noted, "It's a lovely texture to work on, but things have begun to crumble and turn yellow. We didn't know anything about acid-free in those days." While in Mallorca, instead of depicting what he saw around him, Cadmus mostly looked to life in America; he made some of his most important works during this time, including Self-Portrait, YMCA Locker Room, Bicyclists and the first of his sailor paintings, Shore Leave. Pepe #B indeed captures a rare, quiet moment for Cadmus during his time in Mallorca, one where he was looking outward at his immediate surroundings rather than inwardly scrutinizing the America that awaited him when he and French returned.
The Collection of Mark Isaacson and Greg Nacozy includes over two-hundred works from one of the most significant figures in mid-century collecting. Mark established the influential Fifty/50 gallery in New York in 1981 (later partnering with Mark McDonald and Ralph Cutler in 1983), which shaped the tastes and collecting habits of many and brought furniture, decorative arts and jewelry from the 1930s, 40s and 50s to the forefront of the market at a time when they were largely overlooked.
Fifty/50’s and Mark’s legacy is most closely associated with bringing Italian art glass to the United States (Mark even advised the MET on their Italian glass collection) and raising the profile of mid-century furniture and American studio jewelry and ceramics; iconic examples of each are represented in this auction, including an early Rudder Stool by Isamu Noguchi, Charlotte Perriand’s and Pierre Jeanneret’s Bahut No. 2, a Gerrit Rietveld Zig-Zag chair, pottery by Edwin and Mary Scheier and Fausto Melotti, and Venini glassworks.
The most exciting aspects of this auction are the more intimate ones—the works from Mark's and Greg's personal collection that speak to Mark's eclectic taste, his boundless curiosity and sensitivity toward objects and art, and how generous he was in sharing his interests with others and letting them share with him. Standouts include several works by Robert Mapplethorpe—who was close friends with Mark, photographed several Fifty/50 catalogs and got many of the ceramics in his photographs from the gallery—the ecstatic wood construction Wild Plant by Leo Amino, a painting by Ralston Crawford of a spectacularly minimalist skyscraper façade, and photographic works by Man Ray, Edward Weston, Lynn Davis and Dorothea Lange.
This auction also features many works that tie together the thread of Mark’s collecting practices, going beyond the downtown New York sensibilities of the 1980s and showing the scope of eras and cultures that interested him; the sgraffito incisions on a 1940s Scheier vase echo the geometric features of a Senufo Kpeliye'e mask, the entrancing and complex shadows of a grain elevator in a photograph by Ralston Crawford contrast with the severe plainness of a New York City step-back building captured by Walker Evans, and the radical gestures of gay image making are seen in the works of George Platt Lynes, Paul Cadmus and Robert Loughlin. One of the artists in this sale, George Dureau, a photographer from New Orleans (where Greg is also from) who greatly influenced Mapplethorpe early in his career, perhaps best captures the spirit of this collection, saying about his own work:
“I live a warm, involved, humanist sort of life. There are lots of people passing through it. I have exciting experiences and learn things about people. They always go into my art. I cannot have an experience and it not go into my art.”
Fifty/50 gallery reshaped the collecting market during its twelve-year existence, closing in 1993 after Mark passed away from AIDS; his partner Greg has cared for the collection since. The Collection of Mark Isaacson and Greg Nacozy offers an opportunity to see a short but impactful life lived through an enthusiasm for art and design, one that inspired many to see and appreciate objects and live with them as fully as Mark did.
Paul Cadmus 1904–1999
Paul Cadmus was born in New York in 1904 to Egbert Cadmus and Maria Latasa. His father was a commercial lithographer and watercolorist and his mother was an illustrator of children’s books. With their own artistic backgrounds, Paul’s parents encouraged his and his sister’s artistic skills from an early age. In 1919, Paul left high school and entered the National Academy of Design, at age 15. He studied initially with Charles Hinton, learning to draw from plaster casts, which prepared him for life drawing class. Two years later, he received a bronze medal from the Academy for excellence in the discipline. Cadmus began to study printmaking under William Auerbach-Levy in 1923 and was soon exhibiting his work and illustrating for the weekly book review section of The New York Herald Tribune. Throughout his studies, he won numerous scholarships and prizes for his academic achievements and talents.
During the years of 1928 to 1931, Cadmus worked as a layout artist for an advertising agency in New York, while continuing sketching classes taught by Joseph Pennell and Charles Locke. It was through these classes at the Art Students League that he met Jared French, a fellow student who would become one of the most important influences on Cadmus’ life and practice. They had a close friendship as well as romantic relationship. French encouraged Cadmus to pursue his career as a fine artist and after a few years they decided to travel to Europe together and follow this path. The two settled in Mallorca where Cadmus began his painting career. Most of his paintings were dedicated to American themes. Two major works of this time were Shore Leave, 1933 and Y.M.C.A. Locker Room, 1993.
Cadmus and French toured Europe over the next two years visiting major museums and art sites. During this time, Cadmus was exposed to the works of Andrea Mantegna and Luca Signorelli that would inspire him throughout his life. In late 1933, the two men would return to New York and apply to the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Cadmus’ created paintings for the WPA including The Fleet’s In, 1934 and Greenwich Village Cafeteria, 1934, the first sparking controversy when retired Navy General Admiral Hugh Rodman ordered it be removed from an upcoming exhibition at the Corcoran Art Gallery. The painting’s controversial subject matter and mentions in the press provided Cadmus with some media attention. He was now an established up-and-coming artist.
In 1937, Cadmus experienced a significant change in his personal life; Jared French married a mutual friend and artist, Margaret Hoening. The three became inseparable. That same year, Cadmus met another person who would join his inner circle and family, Lincoln Kirstein. A co-founder of the New York City Ballet, Kirstein was influential in New York’s culture. He was one of Cadmus’ biggest advocates, and a loyal patron, who would later marry his sister. Cadmus’ work began to mature in the 1940s with the change to egg tempera. His work during this period was inspired by time spent on Fire Island with Margaret and Jared. He began to paint smaller format works, portraits, paintings of dancers and beach scenes – many became associated with Magic Realism. These intimate scenes by Cadmus contained homoerotic elements and desires. He began to further explore these themes with photography of nudes. Working closely with Jared and Margaret on these works, they formed a collective known as PaJaMa. The collective met George Tooker in 1944, and soon he was an integral member of their group. Cadmus and French taught Tooker about egg tempera. Cadmus and Tooker became lovers and Tooker can be seen posing for many of Cadmus’ paintings and PaJaMa’s photographs during this time.
The four of them travelled to Europe in 1949, where the relationship between Cadmus and Tooker ended. Cadmus did not want to concede to Tooker’s wishes of having him all to himself, leaving Jared behind. Cadmus continued to keep a close relationship with the Frenches. In the early 1960s, Jared and Margaret moved to Europe permanently and Cadmus relocated to Brooklyn Heights. He met Jon Anderson, a former cabaret star, in 1964 and the two formed a relationship, Anderson becoming Cadmus’ muse and primary model. He used Anderson for a series of male nude drawings during the later years of his career. The two remained together for thirty-six years until Cadmus’ death in 1999.
Paul Cadmus challenged the societal norms of the time with his work, becoming one of the most controversial artists of the 1930s. His homoerotic iconography was visible but presented in a coded fashion that only some would understand. He was a master of the figurative form, creating intricate and beautiful compositions of people. He is best known for his erotic depictions of nude male figures, his queer aesthetic and social satire. His work outraged people, prompted censorship, but most importantly provided his viewers with a truthful look into his view of life.
