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Coney Island, NY

A work made of gelatin silver print.

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  • A work made of gelatin silver print.

Date:

1947/48

Artist:

Sid Grossman
American, 1913–1955

About this artwork

Sid Grossman was a founding member of New York’s Photo League, a left-wing organization that promoted documentary photography as a means for social change. There he taught classes, formed production groups, wrote articles, and served in various administrative roles until the group disbanded in 1951. Grossman spent two years photographing summer life on the democratic, chaotic beaches of Coney Island. Although free of the social commentary that characterized much of his other work, these pictures revel in intimacy and liberation, with bodies in constant proximity. Here four unknown beachgoers, shot from below, serve to monumentalize and preserve the ephemeral feeling of carefree youth.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Photography and Media

Artist

Sidney Grossman

Title

Coney Island, NY

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1947–1948

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Dimensions

Image/paper/mount: 23 × 19.4 × 4 cm (9 1/16 × 7 11/16 × 1 5/8 in.)

Credit Line

Purchased with funds provided by the Leonian Charitable Trust

Reference Number

2011.26

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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