Paul Cadmus

The Fleet's In! — magic realism and the egg-tempera revival

The leading American magic realist and the great modern master of egg tempera. Cadmus revived the meticulous Renaissance medium of Signorelli and Mantegna to render satirical, muscular, often scandalous scenes of modern American life. His 1934 painting The Fleet's In!, depicting carousing sailors, was removed from exhibition by the Navy — making him instantly famous. Behind the satire lay an old-master draftsman of extraordinary discipline, devoted to the human figure when abstraction ruled the age.

Key works

• The Fleet's In!1934— Carousing sailors — suppressed by the Navy, an instant scandal
  Navy Art Collection, Washington, D.C.
• Mallorca1932— Sun-struck bathers in luminous egg tempera
  Private collection
• The Shower1943— Renaissance technique turned on the modern male nude
  Whitney Museum of American Art, New York

Connections

External