Intimate Companions

April 3, 2000
"Ars longa, Vita brevis," noted Hippocrates, but time gave art a run for its money in the decades-long careers of the artists, writers, photographers, producers and salon-keepers chronicled in Leddick's group biography of Lynes, Cadmus, Kirstein, Glenway Westcott, Monroe Wheeler, Pavel Tchelitchev, Charles Henri Ford and Parker Tyler. These artists--all gay men who had significant influence on the New York visual art, theatrical and literary scenes from the 1930s to the '50s--have never received the critical or biographical attention Leddick believes they deserve. In a fresh approach to material he first covered in Naked Men: Pioneering Male Nudes (1997), Leddick charts not only the men's intersecting professional careers but how their personal and sexual lives contributed to their creativity and vision. One of his central narratives details how Kirstein drew upon the creative efforts of Lynes and Cadmus in his American Ballet Company, and how the two visual artists also pursued important careers of their own. By turns compassionate about and amused by the romantic and sexual connections among these men, Leddick is at his best when describing how Kirstein married Cadmus's sister and how Lynes became the lover of Wheeler and, later, the third member of Wheeler's "marriage" to Westcott. However, Leddick's history can be sketchy and lacks a sustained view of the artists' broader social context. Often, he mistakes personal detail--such as Westcott's distress over the size of his penis--for insight rather than gossip. Ultimately, however, Leddick makes a strong case for why his subjects remain vital and important American artists.

February 15, 2000
Photographer Platt Lynes, ballet impresario Kirstein, and painter Cadmus, who just died at the age of 94, each made important contributions to his field. Together, they were part of an ever-changing group of artistic talents and promoters who guided New York's--meaning America's--cultural development from the 1930s to the 1950s. That they and many of their colleagues were gay is one of the imprecisely developed themes here--implying some sort of proto-Lavender Mafia. Novelist Leddick came to the project after researching the subjects of photos for his Naked Men: Pioneering Male Nudes (Universe, 1997), and he has clearly undertaken much useful research, garnering candid interviews with many relatives, lesser lights, and with Cadmus himself. He seems unable to cope with the raw data, however, and inelegantly strings together facts, conjecture, and gossip in chapters that alternately focus on each participant. Never does the "circle" gel, nor is it even clear why these three figures should form the locus of this book. Recommended only for academic and large public gay studies collections as a source for further research on these important men.--Eric Bryant, "Library Journal"

Copyright 2000 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2000
Three gay men, all friends, who contributed to the national art scene in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s, are the subjects of a lively and sensitive collective biography that illuminates both their professional and private lives. George Platt Lynes was a portrait and fashion photographer who, through his work and life, personified refined style. Paul Cadmus was a gentle individual but demonstrated a satiric and even saucy side in his paintings. Lincoln Kirstein exerted considerable influence over American dance as cofounder of the New York City Ballet. Leddick follows the lives of his three subjects, weaving into his very intimate tapestry accounts of many of the men whom these three counted as friends, including writers Glenway Wescott and Monroe Wheeler. By reevaluating the professional contributions of Platt Lynes, Cadmus, and Kirstein, Leddick restores their significant place in the art world, and in divulging their sexual partners, he applauds the bravery it took for them to live an alternative lifestyle during a socially conservative time. ((Reviewed April 15, 2000))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)