Fire Island: The Art of Liberation – The Long Island Museum

in Past Exhibitions

July 18 – December 15, 2024 | Art Museum

Fire Island: The Art of Liberation

Only eight miles away from Long Island’s south shore, but a world apart from Long Island’s suburbia. This barrier island seashore offers residents and visitors the freedom to express themselves, both personally and artistically. It has offered a warm-weather respite to Long Islanders and New Yorkers for more than a century, with ferry service beginning in the mid-19th century, soon after the first hotels were built. The Hamlets of Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines have provided LGBTQ+ New Yorkers the freedom to express themselves since the mid-20th century, and these communities have been celebrated worldwide as a place of acceptance, drawing artists seeking inspiration.

Featuring works by Paul Cadmus, Meryl Meisler, John Laub, Joanne Mulberg, TM Davy, Doron Langberg, Louis Fratino, and more.

Vintage photograph of a Miss Fire Island contestant on a boardwalk surround by people. — Joanne Mulberg (b. 1954), "Cherry Grove, Fire Island"[Miss Fire Island Contest on boardwalk], Septemebr 1981, vintage chromogenic print, Courtesy of the artist, Huntington, NY

Vintage photograph of two women smiling in close proximity — Meryl Meisler (b. 1951), "Two Girls Hats, Cherry Grove," 1978, black-and-white photograph, Courtesy of CLAMP, New York, NY

Painting of a beach. — Stephen Truax (b. 1985), "Fire Island," 2021, gouache and pencil on paper, Courtesy of Ilan Cohen, New York, NY

Painting of a naked man on the beach leaning on a fence pole. — Fences
Paul Cadmus (1904–1999), "Fences," 1946, tempera on board, Promised Gift to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansa

Painting of a beachside town with pedestrians and bicycle riders. — Alexander Z. Kruse (1888–1972), "Bicycle Parking, Fire Island," 1969, oil on canvas, Long Island Museum, Gift of Bettijune Kruse in memory of Benedict W. Kruse (1925-2001) and Martin A. Kruse (1951-1998), 2007

TM Davy (b. 1980), "We Oceans Both," 2019, oil on linen, Courtesy of Company Gallery, New York, NY

Exhibition Checklist

The exhibition is sponsored, in part, by:

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