Paul Cadmus lived a bohemian life anyone would envy. 

A native New Yorker born to artistic parents, Cadmus lived an exciting life. He had a passion for the ballet, traveled around Europe, lived and created art in Majorca, then ended up broke and returned to America, where his art was commissioned by the U.S. Government, subsequently sparking public outrage. And we haven't even gotten to his love life yet!

Cadmus was flung onto the national stage when he painted the naval inspired mural Fleet’s In! It was a serious PR issue for the Navy, as Cadmus had depicted drunken sailors hanging around prostitutes, with some subtle homosexual themes thrown in to boot. A photograph of the painting was published in the newspaper and folks went crazy, especially as the work had been payed for by taxpayers via the New Deal. A retired Navy officer went so far as to write the Secretary of the Navy, fuming: "It represents a most disgraceful, sordid, disreputable, drunken brawl," and that is was "originated in the sordid, depraved imagination of someone who has no conception of actual conditions in our service."

The painting was unceremoniously removed from the exhibition before anyone could see it, and lived in the private home of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy until his death. This of course begs the question, if the depiction of naval officer's partying was so inaccurate, why did one of their highest ranking officer's want to hang it in his house? In any case, while naval people were seriously insulted, Cadmus didn’t care. He was paid $32 that week and pocketed it all. On top of that, he became a star. Any press is good press, right? 

Cadmus' romantic life was pretty progressive for the time. He summered with his lover Jared French and his wife Margaret Hoening for many years on Fire Island, where they enjoyed the company of other young artists and queer creative types; they even formed a photography collective they titled PaJaMa, an acronym of the polyamorous throuple's first names. Later, Cadmus' lover George Tooker was introduced to the mix. But it was Jon F. Anderson, a former cabaret singer, who would eventually win Cadmus' heart. They were together for 35 years, until Cadmus' death. Cadmus often depicted the homoerotic male form in his art, with both French and Anderson acting as his models. In Jerry (1931), Jared French is laying bare-chested on some white bedsheets, as though the picture was painted right before or after a session of lovemaking.