Paul Cadmus The Motorist. Costume design for the ballet Filling Station (recto); Costume design for the ballet Filling Station (verso) 1937

  • Not on view

In these designs for the ballet Filling Station, the artist Paul Cadmus gave vivid details to stock characters: grease-stained handprints on the character Ray’s uniform, a “slapstick” cigarette dangling from the Rich Girl’s lips, mismatched shoes and rouged knees on the Motorist’s Daughter. The transparent coveralls he imagined for the protagonist, Mac, the Filling Station Attendant, introduce a homosexual subtext, also present through the use of the prominent arrow pointing to the gas station’s “Rest Room,” a site for cruising.

Gallery label from Lincoln Kirstein’s Modern, March 17 – June 15, 2019.
Medium
Gouache, watercolor, pencil, and pinned fabric on paper (recto); Gouache, watercolor, and pencil on paper (verso)
Dimensions
11 1/8 x 10" (28.3 x 25.4 cm)
Credit
Gift of Lincoln Kirstein
Object number
506.1941.19.a-b
Copyright
© 2024 Estate of Paul Cadmus
Department
Drawings and Prints

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