AA-2026-A18B57
On the image
A woman in a striped cotton dress sits on a towel at the edge of a swimming pool, one hand resting on a colorful beach ball as if posing for the camera. The beach ball—segmented in blue, white, yellow, and orange—was the era's standard proof that a family outing had been planned and executed correctly. She wears the modest swimwear cover-up of the decade, a practical garment that allowed a woman to be seen in public en route to and from the water without actually revealing a bathing suit to strangers. Behind her, dappled sunlight and a child's partially visible form suggest this was a supervised, well-ordered afternoon: the kind that required a towel, a change of clothes, and the confidence that nothing unexpected would happen. The pose itself—hand on ball, direct gaze, arranged on towel—is the visual contract between subject and photographer: I will hold still and look pleasant if you will make this moment official. She has already decided the beach ball will be in the picture.
Visually related — by likeness
Woman at poolside with beach ball, 1950s. 1950–1959. Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library, AA-2026-A18B57. https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/woman-at-poolside-with-beach-ball-1950s.
@misc{aaAA2026A18B57,
title = {Woman at poolside with beach ball, 1950s},
year = {1950–1959},
howpublished = {Archive \& Atlas, Historical Image Library},
note = {Accession AA-2026-A18B57},
url = {https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/woman-at-poolside-with-beach-ball-1950s}
}TY - ART TI - Woman at poolside with beach ball, 1950s PY - 1950–1959 PB - Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library AN - AA-2026-A18B57 UR - https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/woman-at-poolside-with-beach-ball-1950s ER -
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