Fire Island Art: 100 Years

The first book to survey the rich history of art on Fire Island – a beloved destination and cultural haven for queer individuals from around the world

‘A seminal work of queer art history.’ – Art Daily

For nearly one hundred years, Fire Island has served as a haven for queer individuals from around the world. Ninety minutes away from New York City, the slender barrier island has been a source of creative innovation for its residents and visitors, which include some of the most influential artists of the past century.

This book – the first of its kind – presents an art history of Fire Island, surveying the rich tapestry of visual artworks in all mediums created there since the 1930s. The story is told in fifteen chapters, each written by a leading art writer and centering on a group of friends and collaborators who drew inspiration from one another and the unique setting of the island at each juncture in its history.

Richly illustrated, the book includes the work of historic artists including Paul Cadmus, David Hockney, Peter Hujar, Robert Mapplethorpe, Paul Thek, and Andy Warhol; and also chronicles the explosion of art-making on the island over the past fifteen years, with works by contemporary artists such as TM Davy, Nicole Eisenman, Lola Flash, K8 Hardy, Lyle Ashton Harris, Doron Langberg, Wolfgang Tillmans, and Salman Toor.

Assembled with extensive archival materials – many newly unearthed and never-before published – by editor John Dempsey, the book includes essays by Sam Ashby, AA Bronson, Michael Bullock, Fabio Cherstich, Marc Christensen, Andrew Durbin, Jarrett Earnest, Philip Gefter, Carl Little, Richard Meyer, Jack Parlett, and Ksenia M. Soboleva; alongside interviews with artists Lola Flash, Pamela Sneed, and Wolfgang Tillmans.

'Fire Island Art looks beyond the island’s reputation as a queer summer utopia, revealing it, for the first time, as a creative hub that influenced artists from Richard Avedon to Wolfgang Tillmans.’ – Air Mail

'Fire Island Art: 100 Years, edited by Fire Island Pines Historical Society president John Dempsey, lifts the veil on the slender isle’s outsized role in queer artmaking from the 1930s to the present. . . . Essays, interviews, and primary texts (from Frank O’Hara, Wolfgang Tillmans, and others) crescendo into a chorus of perspectives generations to come will be grateful to have all in one place.’ – CULTURED

In Fire Island Art: 100 Years, the historian and longtime Fire Island resident John Dempsey chronicles the community’s rich artistic output.’ – T Magazine

‘Chronicles [Fire Island’s] history through a dynamic visual survey across media, highlighting many previously unpublished works.’ – L’Officiel

‘Like the island itself, [Fire Island Art's] ethos is generous and encompassing, including lesser-known local artists.’ – Editors@Large

‘[A] big, smart, lively book . . . the range of opinions, ideas and images comes on like wave after wave of the ocean that inspires so much Fire Island art and life.’ – Vince Aletti, Dave, of The Week

‘For the first time, [Fire Island's] art history is getting its moment in Fire Island Art: 100 Years, an astonishingly gorgeous volume edited by John Dempsey.’ – Gay Cities

‘Celebrates the island’s rich visual legacy [with] fifteen hope-filled chapters.’ – Financial Times

‘Shows that the work of Robert Mapplethorpe and Peter Hujar as well as a new generation of artists would not be the same without the New York island.’ – The Guardian

‘A lush survey that makes a powerful case for Fire Island as a wellspring of queer art.’ – Kirkus, STARRED review

‘The first major collection to document Fire Island’s contributions to art history.’ – Out Magazine

• Format: Hardback
• Dimensions: 305mm x 238mm
• Pages: 304
• Brand: Monacelli
• ISBN: 9781580936712