Charles Demuth Three Sailors Urinating Cushion

The Artist Who Dared 🌈

Charles Demuth (1883-1935) was a titan of American modernism whose double life as a society painter and creator of audacious homoerotic watercolours makes him one of the most fascinating figures in 20th-century art history. Whilst his public-facing architectural studies and botanical paintings earned him acclaim within establishment circles, it was his private works that revealed his truest artistic vision.

A contemporary of Georgia O'Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz, Demuth studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts before absorbing the revolutionary spirit of Parisian avant-garde during his European sojourns. There, he encountered Marcel Duchamp's conceptual radicalism and the Fauvists' fearless approach to colour, influences that would profoundly shape his secret oeuvre.

Created around 1930, 'Three Sailors Urinating' is part of Demuth's extraordinary series of homoerotic watercolours, works that were circulated only amongst his intimate circle of confidants. This wasn't timidity but survival. In an era when homosexuality was criminalised and socially ostracised, these paintings represented both personal liberation and considerable risk.

Details

Dimensions: 18x18"
Material: Premium linen
Design: Double-sided
Printing: Dye sublimation technology for vibrant, fade-resistant colour
Made in: Great Britain

Care Instructions 🧼

Wash outers at 30°C with no more than 800rpm spin cycle.