Central Park, New York City no number 1957 - 1959

Robert Frank made this photographic contact sheet of Central Park in New York City. The individual frames and sprocket holes visible here offer insight into Frank’s working process. Frank's images were often framed unconventionally, and he challenged traditional ideas about composition. He captured everyday life, often focusing on ordinary people and marginalized communities. In doing so, his work critiqued the idealized vision of American society promoted by mainstream media in the postwar era. The Museum of Modern Art played a key role in promoting photography as fine art during this period, but Frank's work, with its gritty realism, stood in stark contrast to the more polished and staged images often associated with art photography. Examining Frank’s work, along with other resources like the popular press and sociological studies, reveals a complex and often contradictory picture of American society during the mid-20th century.