AA-2026-7A2259
On the image
Whatever storm or decade of coastal wind produced this cypress skeleton, it left something that looked less like a dead tree and more like an abstract sculpture a committee would have argued about for months. The bleached trunk, hollowed and splayed into a wide arch, stands at the roadside as though it grew into that shape on purpose — which, in a way, the relentless onshore wind ensured it did. Cypress trees on the California coast spend their whole lives being pushed sideways by the prevailing wind until the dead ones look like they're still fleeing.
Down the gravel road, a white American sedan from the early-to-mid 1950s drifts away, its rear fender and yellow license plate just visible — the unhurried pace of someone who has done their sightseeing and is ready for lunch. The 1950s American road trip ran on exactly this formula: stop for the remarkable, photograph it, move on. The remarkable thing here is that nobody thought to stop the tree before it got this dramatic.
Visually related — by likeness
Wind-Sculpted Cypress Snag and 1950s American Sedan, Coastal Road. 1950–1959. Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library, AA-2026-7A2259. https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/wind-sculpted-cypress-snag-and-1950s-american-sedan-coastal-road.
@misc{aaAA20267A2259,
title = {Wind-Sculpted Cypress Snag and 1950s American Sedan, Coastal Road},
year = {1950–1959},
howpublished = {Archive \& Atlas, Historical Image Library},
note = {Accession AA-2026-7A2259},
url = {https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/wind-sculpted-cypress-snag-and-1950s-american-sedan-coastal-road}
}TY - ART TI - Wind-Sculpted Cypress Snag and 1950s American Sedan, Coastal Road PY - 1950–1959 PB - Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library AN - AA-2026-7A2259 UR - https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/wind-sculpted-cypress-snag-and-1950s-american-sedan-coastal-road ER -
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