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Sunday, January 28, 2024

Jared and Paul 1939


Paul Cadmus was never as eager to pose fully nude as Jared French.  This shot of him in profile on the beach at Fire Island in 1939 is about as much of a package view as we ever get.

 

6 comments:

  1. Nice photo. Them looking off in the distance draws one in. Great setting and moment in time.

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  2. Nice composition. Why was Cadmus reluctant to bare it? Seems hypocritical that he took frontals of naked males, but wouldn't "share."

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    1. I never understood that. He drew and painted dozens of nude men from every conceivable angle, and photos of such by him are unusual.

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    2. Justin Spring included a great biography of Paul in his book "Paul Cadmus: The Male Nude". He recounts that as a child in a poor family, Paul suffered from malnutrition, rickets, and occasional bullying. As adults, when Jared and Paul shared a home together, they were known to be very secretive, not answering the door or the telephone unless they knew who was there. At one time, Paul stated his ideal was invisibility. Any or all of those could have contributed to his reluctance to "bare it all" for the camera.

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    3. Thank you, Tom! That's very interesting and pertinent.

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