AA-2026-97C0CB
On the image
A small party of tourists stands in a desert canyon lined with dark volcanic rock, the kind of southwestern landscape formation that was becoming a standard pilgrimage for Americans with automobiles and disposable income in the postwar decades. A man in the foreground wears a cowboy hat—not because he is a rancher but because he is a visitor performing the outfit expected of someone in the American West, a role-costume sold by every tourist shop from Phoenix to Santa Fe. Behind him others wait in the canyon floor, having climbed down to see the formation up close, the way one did with natural wonders before digital cameras made the experience something to be documented rather than witnessed. The rock itself is patient and indifferent to their visit, having been here longer than the genre of the American vacation tour. His hat is the detail that carries the whole story: he bought it specifically for this trip.
Visually related — by likeness
Desert Canyon, Tourist Group, Mid-20th Century. 1950–1970. Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library, AA-2026-97C0CB. https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/desert-canyon-tourist-group-mid-20th-century.
@misc{aaAA202697C0CB,
title = {Desert Canyon, Tourist Group, Mid-20th Century},
year = {1950–1970},
howpublished = {Archive \& Atlas, Historical Image Library},
note = {Accession AA-2026-97C0CB},
url = {https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/desert-canyon-tourist-group-mid-20th-century}
}TY - ART TI - Desert Canyon, Tourist Group, Mid-20th Century PY - 1950–1970 PB - Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library AN - AA-2026-97C0CB UR - https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/desert-canyon-tourist-group-mid-20th-century ER -
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