Election day--Switzerland 1 1949

This is Robert Frank’s photographic contact sheet, *Election day--Switzerland 1*. Though undated, it likely comes from the period when Frank returned to his homeland after his influential work in the United States. Frank’s Swiss work differs markedly from his American photographs. He captured various slices of Swiss political and social life. But this image is not the final artwork. It is, rather, the artist's first step. The images selected in red marker would become the final images. Looking at this sheet, we can ask a number of questions. What was Frank trying to say about Swiss life and culture, and what was the public role of a Swiss photographer? Perhaps research into Swiss political and photographic history would reveal the answers. The meaning of art is contingent on its social and institutional context.