PaJaMA

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. George Platt Lynes, a friend and well-known fashion photographer,  often photographed them, and they him. He encouraged their photographic pursuits. They alternated as figures within the compositions, along with their friends, many of whom were figures in the New York art, dance, literary and theater worlds.   The three artists formed a close, even incestuous group, since Cadmus and Jared French were lovers. They worked together primarily in the summer, on beaches along the Eastern Seaboard and in New York apartments. In addition to themselves, their sitters included the painter George Tooker; the photographer George Platt Lynes; Monroe Wheeler, a Museum of Modern Art curator; and Fidelma Cadmus, sister of Paul Cadmus and wife of Lincoln Kirstein, a founder of the New York City Ballet.