Accession Number
1956/1.52

Title
Coney Island Beach

Artist(s)
Reginald Marsh

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1934

Medium & Support
etching on paper

Dimensions
9 3/4 in x 9 7/8 in (24.77 cm x 25.08 cm);9 3/4 in x 9 7/8 in (24.77 cm x 25.08 cm);22 1/8 in x 18 1/8 in (56.2 cm x 46.04 cm)

Credit Line
Museum Purchase

Subject matter
Marsh made several prints, photographs, and paintings of the crowds at Coney Island Beach. While many other artists were documenting social conditions and the effects the Great Depression on labor and families, Marsh was concerned with the pasttimes of Americans. He sketched and photographed their leisure activies and then created prints and paintings from them. They frequently included contorted bodies involved in beach stunts with the emphasis on their physical interactions rather than their individuality. In this etching, Marsh shows some figures climbing on top of each other to form a human pyramid of some sort, while others are vying for a spot on the sand. Onlookers gaze over the balcony down at the masses.  

Physical Description
This print shows a festive, large, dense crowd of people at a beach. Some figures on the right side of the print appear to be climbing on top of each other in a human pyramid. To the left is a bridge or boardwalk that is also crowded with people.

Primary Object Classification
Print

Primary Object Type
intaglio print

Collection Area
Modern and Contemporary

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
Coney Island
bathers
bathing suits
beaches
genre (visual works)
leisure
males
modern and contemporary art
reclining
seated
standing
summer (season)
swimmers