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Gilding the Acrobats

Paul Cadmus American
1935
Not on view
A renowned satirist, Cadmus was one of the most accomplished draftsmen of the twentieth century. Featuring a circus acrobat who, with help from two companions, covers his muscular body with gold radiator paint, Gilding the Acrobats reenacts literally the experience of painting the figure with thinly veiled homoeroticism. In an era when homosexual behavior was criminalized and homoerotic imagery was intensely policed, gay artists like Cadmus and Richmond Barthé turned frequently to circus performers and athletes as the few socially permissible subjects that offered the opportunity to lavish attention on the male body.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Gilding the Acrobats
  • Artist: Paul Cadmus (American, New York 1904–1999 Weston, Connecticut)
  • Date: 1935
  • Medium: Tempera and oil on Masonite
  • Dimensions: 36 11/16 in. × 18 1/2 in. (93.2 × 47 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Arthur Hoppock Hearn Fund, 1950
  • Object Number: 50.94.3
  • Rights and Reproduction: © Estate of Paul Cadmus
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

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Male Nude
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