Study for "Bar Italia"

Study for "Bar Italia" — Paul Cadmus. c. 1954.

Medium: Pen and black ink, over graphite, on ivory tracing paper. Dimensions: 31.8 × 38.1 cm (12 9/16 × 15 in.).

Collection record: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.

Paul Cadmus was adept at both adapting the drawing techniques of the Old Masters and engaging contemporary viewers. He paid close attention to the relationships between the people he depicted, using such devices as eye contact or the direction of a gaze to suggest underlying meaning. His characters frequently display feelings of boredom or a distracted sexuality. In 1934 Cadmus achieved national celebrity when his painting The Fleet’s In! was removed by order of the Navy from a Public Works of Art Project exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., because it depicted a gay man seducing a willing sailor. Following this incident, his content became more suggestive than explicit.

Description: © Art Institute of Chicago, original record, CC BY 4.0. HTML formatting removed; wording retained. Other artwork metadata: CC0.

Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.