Cultured magazine highlights a new book, *Fire Island Art: 100 Years*, edited by John Dempsey, president of the Fire Island Pines Historical Society. The volume surveys queer artmaking on Fire Island from the 1930s to the present, featuring canonical figures like Richard Avedon, David Hockney, and Andy Warhol alongside overlooked artists, and includes contemporary voices such as TM Davy, Nicole Eisenman, and Salman Toor. It draws on archival material, newly unearthed pieces, essays, interviews, and primary texts to reframe the island as a cornerstone of queer modernism.
The book matters because it consolidates a century of queer artistic production tied to a single, iconic location, giving overdue recognition to artists who worked outside mainstream narratives. By weaving together historical and contemporary perspectives—and highlighting the role of nonprofits like BOFFO and the Fire Island Artist Residency—it positions Fire Island not merely as a vacation spot but as a vital, generative site for queer culture and community, preserving a legacy that might otherwise remain fragmented.