Male Figure, ca. late 1940s.

Gelatin silver print.

Stamped on the verso, "51".

A photograph taken by the PaJaMa artist collective during one of their summer vacations in Saltaire, Fire Island, NY.

Sheet: 4 x 2 3/4 in. (10.1 x 6.9 cm)

Frame: 14 5/8 x 11 3/4 in. (37.2 x 30 cm)

Notes:

Starting in 1937 on Fire Island, the American artists Paul Cadmus, Jared French, and Margaret French began a personal series of photographs taken during their seaside summer vacations, forming the informal photography collective, PaJaMa. Spending their summers throughout the 1930s-1950s along the beaches of Fire Island, Provincetown, Nantucket, and Martha’s Vineyard, the trio would take intimate, artfully composed photographs of each other using Margaret’s handheld Leica camera.

Outside of the trio, other notable artists and writers would also often feature in their photographs, including the writer Glenway Wescott and his partner Monroe Wheeler, the painter George Tooker, and the photographer George Platt Lynes, who also took his own photos of the group using his Rolleiflex camera.

While these photographs were originally intended as personal works to be gifted to the trio’s close friends, their project would see renewed attention during the 1980s for both the technical qualities of their photography and the bold, queer intimacy exhibited by the ménage à trois.

Nothing adverse to note.

For further condition details or additional images, please contact info@vallots.com

Swann Auction Galleries. New York, NY. LGBTQ+ Art, Material Culture & History. August 22, 2024, lot 350.

Property of a Wisconsin Estate, purchased from the above.