Subway Symphony

A visual cacophony overflowing with movement, color and noise, Paul Cadmus' Subway Symphony of 1973-74 relates to the artist's 1975-76 large-scale canvas of the same title (private collection). According to the artist himself, while the work "was based on the Fourteenth Street subway, it was not the fourteenth Street subway. It's an essence of the worst of all the subways in New York." (Archives of American Art, Oral history interview with Paul Cadmus, March 22-May 5, 1988) Indeed, caricature-like, even borderline grotesque, figures whose internal vices appear to manifest physically abound, emphasizing the artist's delight in exploring human physiognomy. He further elaborates: "I love watching people in the subway....if a Neanderthal were dressed in contemporary clothes he would pass un-noticed in the New York subway...I've seen things in the New York subway that fit that description very well. I was always interested in everyone I saw in the subway" (Oral history interview with Paul Cadmus). Based on direct observation of the subway system during his time in New York, the present work is an exaggerated, satirical amalgamation of the chaos of public transit that characterizes the best of Cadmus' ability in its exacting execution and comical tone.