Beginning in 1937, the three painters, Paul Cadmus (1904-1999), Margaret French (1906-1998) and Jared French (1905-1988), vacationed together in Provincetown and Fire Island. With a shared camera, they photographed themselves and their friends against a background of vast, empty beaches. Driftwood, umbrellas, white sheets and old fishing nets were arranged with models, to form oddly surreal compositions. Many such arrangements were later adapted for use in the artists' paintings, several examples of which are also reproduced here. "These small photographs are revealing in their beautiful compositions, and provide insights as to how these painters interpreted their visual richness for their painting."

Presented at a symposium held in 1990 to celebrate the Getty Museum's acquisition of the only known illuminated copy of The Visions of Tondal, twenty essays address the celebrated bibliophilic activity of Margaret of York; the career of Simon Marmion, a favorite artist of the Burgundian court; and The Visions of Tondal in relation to illustrated visions of the Middle Ages. Contributors include Maryan Ainsworth, Wim Blockmans, Walter Cahn, Albert Derolez, Peter Dinzelbacher, Rainald Grosshans, Sandra Hindman, Martin Lowry, Nigel Morgan, and Nigel Palmer.