Three Kids at a Park Picnic, 1950s

Archive & AtlasEstablished · MMXXIII

Three Kids at a Park Picnic, 1950s — Archive & Atlas

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Three Kids at a Park Picnic, 1950s — Archive & Atlas

Unattributed 1950–1959

AA-2026-E16EB7

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It is a summer afternoon at a public park, and three children are doing what children did in the 1950s when an adult pointed a camera at them: one girl strikes a confident hand-on-hip pose in red capri pants and sandals, one small boy in a plaid shirt and cap clutches a yellow cup and stares at the lens with deep suspicion, and a third child in denim overalls leans against the picnic table behind them as though supervising. A blue thermos and what appears to be a birthday cake sit on the table, which means someone has decided that the correct venue for a birthday party is outdoors, on municipal furniture, surrounded by strangers. The blanket on the grass, the football, the basketball near the table leg, and the playground equipment visible through the trees complete the picture of a decade that had not yet invented the concept of a controlled, themed event. Nobody here has been handed a goody bag, and nobody has been asked to sign a liability waiver. The small boy with the cup has already correctly assessed that the camera is the least interesting thing happening.

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