AA-2026-DE0AF6
On the image
Christmas in the 1950s required a photograph, and in ranch country that meant the old man wore his good suit and kept the hat on anyway. The double-breasted blue suit and the red tie represent a genuine concession to formality; the cream Stetson represents where that concession stopped. The three women around him have dressed for an evening occasion — pearl chokers, a sequined black dress, a fur stole — which suggests this gathering involved more than immediate family and that someone had declared it a production.
The decorated tree behind them is the kind assembled from a box of separate wire branches, a mid-century living room standard that let families achieve Christmas without the mess of needles and the argument about the stand. The patterned wallpaper and sheer curtains date the room as precisely as any calendar. Everyone understood that the purpose of the photograph was to prove the family was intact and well-dressed at the end of another year.
The patriarch holds his expression with the settled patience of a man who has stood through droughts, auctions, and funerals without blinking, and is prepared to stand through this too.
Visually related — by likeness
Family Christmas Portrait with Patriarch in Stetson, American Southwest, 1950s. 1950–1959. Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library, AA-2026-DE0AF6. https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/family-christmas-portrait-with-patriarch-in-stetson-american-southwest-1950s.
@misc{aaAA2026DE0AF6,
title = {Family Christmas Portrait with Patriarch in Stetson, American Southwest, 1950s},
year = {1950–1959},
howpublished = {Archive \& Atlas, Historical Image Library},
note = {Accession AA-2026-DE0AF6},
url = {https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/family-christmas-portrait-with-patriarch-in-stetson-american-southwest-1950s}
}TY - ART TI - Family Christmas Portrait with Patriarch in Stetson, American Southwest, 1950s PY - 1950–1959 PB - Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library AN - AA-2026-DE0AF6 UR - https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/family-christmas-portrait-with-patriarch-in-stetson-american-southwest-1950s ER -
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