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

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.

John Dempsey is a technology executive and historian who splits his time between New York City and Fire Island, where he has owned a home for the past decade. He serves as president of the Fire Island Pines Historical Society, which preserves the island's history through archives, exhibitions, and events. In 2025, he helped republish The Butch Manual, a cult gay classic that had been out of print for forty years.