AA-2026-AF519B
On the image
Sprawled across a slatted cast-iron park bench in a navy gingham dress, she has the look of a child who was brought somewhere outdoors for her own good and has decided to make the least of it. The dress — full-skirted, short-sleeved, with a dark Peter Pan collar — is exactly what a 1950s mother considered appropriate for a public outing, the idea being that a well-turned-out child reflected sound character in the household.
The bench itself is the kind of white-painted municipal ironwork that filled American city parks and zoo grounds in the mid-twentieth century, built to last several lifetimes and repainted every spring regardless. Two or three of them are clustered together here, which suggests a designated rest area, the sort of place adults sat while children were supposed to be doing something improving nearby.
She is not doing something improving. She is lying down, looking sideways at the camera with the mild suspicion of someone who knows the afternoon is not yet over.
Visually related — by likeness
Girl Resting on Cast-Iron Park Bench, 1950s. 1950–1959. Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library, AA-2026-AF519B. https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/girl-resting-on-cast-iron-park-bench-1950s.
@misc{aaAA2026AF519B,
title = {Girl Resting on Cast-Iron Park Bench, 1950s},
year = {1950–1959},
howpublished = {Archive \& Atlas, Historical Image Library},
note = {Accession AA-2026-AF519B},
url = {https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/girl-resting-on-cast-iron-park-bench-1950s}
}TY - ART TI - Girl Resting on Cast-Iron Park Bench, 1950s PY - 1950–1959 PB - Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library AN - AA-2026-AF519B UR - https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/girl-resting-on-cast-iron-park-bench-1950s ER -
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