Boardwalk and Beach 1939

Esther Garber made this oil painting, Boardwalk and Beach, sometime in the mid-twentieth century. It depicts a crowd of people gathered near a beach, with buildings looming in the background. As a social historian, I’m interested in how Garber’s painting captures a moment in American leisure and urban life. The boardwalk and beach were public spaces, shared by people from different backgrounds. We see figures in various states of dress and undress, enjoying the sun and sea. The black-and-white palette gives the scene a documentary feel, reminiscent of photographs from the period. What’s striking is the density of the crowd. Garber seems to suggest a sense of both community and anonymity, typical of urban environments. To understand this painting better, we might look at photographs and news articles from the time, to get a sense of what these spaces meant to people and to compare with other paintings from the era.