Lot 50
  • 50

Paul Cadmus 1904 - 1999

Estimate
70,000 - 90,000 USD
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Description

  • Paul Cadmus
  • Fences
  • signed Cadmus, l.l.; also titled Fences, inscribed painted in eggyolk tempera, signed by Paul Cadmus, and dated 1946 on the reverse
  • egg tempera on panel
  • 10 3/4 by 9 3/4 in.
  • (37.3 by 24.8 cm)

Provenance

Flora Whitney Miller (sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 28, 1987, lot 332, illustrated)
Acquired at the above sale

Exhibited

Wichita, Kansas, Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita State University; Oxford, Ohio, Miami University Art Museum; Yonkers, New York, The Hudson River Museum, Paul Cadmus: Yesterday and Today, November 1981-July 1982, no. 27
New York, Whitney Museum of American Art, Cadmus, French, and Tooker: The Early Years, February-May 1990

Literature

Lincoln Kirstein, Paul Cadmus, New York, 1984, pp. 61-63, 135, illustrated p. 61

Condition

Very good condition. Under UV: fine. A letter from the artist to the late owner will accompany this lot. Please note the amended provenance: Flora Whitney Miller (sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 28, 1987, lot 332, illustrated) Acquired at the above sale
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

In a letter dated August 27, 1987, Cadmus wrote to Arthur Byron Phillips about his recent purchase of Fences: "It started with a very careful drawing of some battered snow fences on this island near Saltaire where I spent many summers with my friends Jared and margaret French. The pole and figures were invented additions. At the time ... I saw quite a lot of two handsome young friends of friends, not intimtaes of mine. Jonathan Tichenor - an assistant and much more to George Platt Lynes and John Nerber a young poet. I don't remember who actually posed for the figure. Neither of those two. Probably Jared French who was not that elongated. He posed for almost anything I did in those days. As I did too, for him. Once I was a blonde negress! And he a little child. The reclining figure I wanted to be ambiguous: male possibly or female possibly. I left it up to the viewer. I wanted to suggest the strange feeling that sometimes is supposed to occur after love-making - a kind of melancholy(?)..."