Jared French, Fire Island
1942
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image/sheet: 11.11 × 16.51 cm (4 3/8 × 6 1/2 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Pepita Milmore Memorial Fund
Accession Number
2020.8.3
Art Historical Context
Paul Cadmus created this gelatin silver print portrait of his close friend and fellow artist Jared French on Fire Island in 1942. The small-scale photograph, measuring just over 4 by 6 inches, captures an intimate moment during a period when both artists were exploring themes of the human figure and personal relationships in their work. As a photograph rather than one of Cadmus’s better-known paintings or drawings, it offers a candid glimpse into the creative circles of mid-20th-century American artists. Gelatin silver prints were the dominant photographic process of the era, prized for their...