Archives
The Fire Island Muses of George Platt Lynes & the PaJaMa collective
Artists George Platt Lynes and the collective PaJaMa vacationed on Fire Island in the 1930s and 40s with a parade of attractive young gay men who served as models and muses for the artists. Here we look at 10 of these Muses - captured in their prime by the artists on Fire Island.
Fire Island Pines Pop-Up Museum 2013
In 2013 we were asked to be part of an exhibit taking place at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art in New York City. It then traveled to the Pines as part of the 60th anniversary.
Fire Island Art History- Bernard Perlin
The 1930’s through the 50’s saw a migration of the Art world finding their way to Fire Island for inspiration, freedom , and community. Painter Bernard Perlin would join friends like George Platt Lynes, Lincoln Kirstein, Paul Cadmus, Jared French, and more to express their creative…
Fire Island Celebrity history- Mart Crowley
Fire Island Pines was drawing all creatives including playwright Mart Crowley whose play “Boys in the Band” was introducing the gay lifestyle to the world. That influence was now arriving in the Pines changing the demographic from predominantly straight to a growing population of gay…
Art History- Peter Hujar
Like many artists Photographer Peter Hujar found his way to Fire Island. He died of AIDS in 1987, leaving behind a complex and profound body of photographs. He was a leading figure in the group of artists, musicians, writers, and performers at the forefront of the cultural scene in downtown New York in the 1970s and early ’80s, and was enormously admired for his completely uncompromising attitude towards work and life. He was a consummate technician, and his portraits of people, animals, and landscapes, with their exquisite black-and-white tonalities, were extremely influential.
Fire Island Art history- Jim French
Jim French was an American illustrator and photographer who created the male erotic photography studio Colt Studio, as well as its two predecessors, Arion Studio and The Loger Studio. He was another creative who spent time on Fire Island.
Souvenirs Fire Island: 1970’s The Photography of Meryl Meisler
Meryl Meisler is an American photographer. In the 1970s she photographed in New York City nightclubs and in the 1980s she photographed residents of Bushwick, Brooklyn, while working as a public school teacher there. She also frequented Fire Island where she photographed and captured the era of the 1970’s.
Celebrity history- Patti Smith by Robert Maplethorpe
The 1970’s brought artists of every kind to the Pines including Patti Smith a singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses.
Art history- Frank O’Hara
Fire Island was a haven for many artists. Poet Frank O’Hara was just one. His poetry was intermingled with the growing Art scene in New York. His untimely death on Fire Island only fueled his legend…
Fire Island Art history- W.H. Auden
Cherry Grove drew many people from the Art world including poet W.H.Auden. It was here they could escape New York City and all its trappings to create their Art…
The Carrington Chronicles- Chapter 1: The History of the Estate
Frank Carrington purchased his home on Fire Island in 1927. The property is located on the western boundary of Fire Island Pines, one half mile east of Cherry Grove. He lived there until 1975. He played an important role in the development of the mid-century performing arts in American culture.
The Fresco / Doll House Est.1974
Fire Island Pines has always drawn designers of every kind, and sometimes they build their dream homes leaving behind their personal stamp on history…
Fire Island Art history- George Platt Lynes
From the late 1920s until his death in 1955,George Platt Lynes was one of the world’s most successful commercial and fine art photographers. But in his view, his most important works were his nude photographs of men. Yet during Lynes’s life, few even knew of their existence.
Fire Island Art history -George Stavrinos
Many artists made their way to the Pines leaving their mark on history with their art. George Stavrinos is one. An incredible talented artist whose gift was fashion illustration.
Art history-Rodger Duncan
Many artists of every creative field made their way to the Pines. It’s natural setting was a haven that inspired creativity. It was only natural that they would give back to the community using their art, and so is the case with fashion illustrator Rodger Duncan. In 1989 he created the “Fashion of the Pines” poster art for the show.
Peter Berlin on the art of cruising in Fire Island
Photographer, filmmaker, porn star, and exhibitionist, Peter Berlin evades categorization; he is simply one of the greatest queer sex symbols of the 20th century. He was a living, breathing, cruising work of art.
Art History: Robert Mapplethorpe in the Pines
Robert Mapplethorpe first came to the Pines as many do: as the guest of a new lover with a summer share. Summers in Fire Island would introduce him to the famous people he always aspired to be around.
The FIPAP Art Show Est. 1985-1987
Art has always been part of the Pines community. The beauty of the beach has inspired many. In the 70’s it became a melting pot for the creative as designers, artists, architects, and theater people found their way to the Pines.
Art history- Jack Brusca
Many artists have found their way to the Pines. Some for fun, sex, inspiration, or all of that combined. Artist Jack Brusca was just one.
Fire Island Art history - PaJaMa: Paul Cadmus, Jared & Margaret French
In 1937 on Fire Island, Paul Cadmus, Jared and Margaret French forged a photographic collaboration they called PaJaMa, an amalgamation of the first two letters of each of their first names. The trio produced intimately posed photographs that detailed their relationships, both amongst themselves and within Fire Island’s thriving artistic community.