Getty Museum
Couple at Coney Island
Creator
Walker EvansAmerican Photographer · 1903–1975
All works by this person →> Leaving aside the mysteries and the inequities of human talent, brains, taste, and reputations, the matter of art in photography may come down to this: it is the capture and projection of the delights of seeing; it is the defining of observation full and felt. > > -- Walker Evans Walker Evans began to photograph in the late 1920s, making snapshots during a European trip. Upon his return to New Y
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- 1928
- Medium
- Gelatin silver print
- Culture
- American
- Department
- Photographs
- Institution
- Getty Museum
Coney Island became a getaway synonymous with freedom and escape from the societal restrictions of early twentieth-century life. Lovers flocked to the attraction to frolic and become lost amidst the crowds and displays that were much more daring than they. Walker Evans photographed this couple from behind as they held each other and looked out over the water toward the famous central tower at Luna Park, one of the resort's amusement parks. The plunging back neckline of the woman's soft summer dress and her bare, tanned arms evoke collective memories of leisurely seaside idylls and hours spent in another's arms, doing nothing more than stealing moments to pause and dream and enjoy the long hot days of the season.
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