Yesterday I went with my kids to LA Moca LA County Museum of Art (LACMA) and came across an amazing painting by Paul Cadmus (1904-1999), called “Coney Island.” The reproduction here doesn’t do the painting justice.
What struck me was how much it looked like something Robert Crumb would have painted. It also has a touch of Will Elder‘s work for Trump and Mad. Maybe a little Joe Coleman thrown in for good measure.
Link to pen-and-ink drawing | Link to painting
Reader comments:
scorzonera says:
I smell a healthy dose of William Hogarth in there too – maybe his “March To Finchley” or something from “Rake’s Progress”? Nice find.
Robin Edgerton says:
Cadmus, a WPA artist, has always been controversial — this particular painting he did for the U.S. Navy (! — also very Crumb-like, especially in its misanthropy) has had a colorful history. It also, coincidentally, hangs in an examination room at my gynecologist’s….:)