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Illuminating the Archive of Arthur Griffin: Photographs 1935-1955, Part VI

Posted on April 29, 2021

“I know New England like the feel of my camera. I have been over her highways and up the back of dirt roads, cow paths and country lanes, and have walked the shores of many harbors, inlets and creeks… My ambition, simply stated, has been to bring happiness through my pictures, to feel that the world was a bit better off for my having done what I did.” -Arthur Griffin

Celebrating Summer

By Madison Marone

AG Archive- paddling on the Charles River
Photo by Arthur Griffin, © Griffin Museum of Photography, All rights reserved
Canoes on the Charles River: Massachusetts

Introduction

Arthur Griffin is remembered as a successful photographer for the Boston Globe and a New England photojournalist for Life and Time magazines. Griffin was a pioneer in the use of color film, providing the first color photos to appear in the Saturday Evening Post. His work captures the essence and vibrancy of mid-20th century New England.

Griffin’s legacy lives on through the Griffin Museum of Photography. As an Exhibitions Assistant at the museum, I’ve created this series to highlight and provide context for his work so viewers may experience it in new and exciting ways. Illuminating the Archive of Arthur Griffin: Photographs 1935-1955, looks at New England’s cultural heritage, traditions, and aesthetic through the lens of Griffin’s lesser-known work. This six-part exhibition explores how photography enhances our relationship with and understanding of the past. Each exhibit features historical, sociological, and creative interpretations of photographs from the museum’s collection.

Griffin famously documented the region in all of its seasons. This installment focuses on his summer photographs. It is separated into three sections based on their location: the city, the countryside, and on the shoreline.

AG Archive- woman and young girl in Dennis, MA
Photo by Arthur Griffin, © Griffin Museum of Photography, All rights reserved
Dennis, Massachusetts

For more information on Arthur Griffin’s work as a photojournalist, see the second installment: The Art of Photojournalism.

In the City

In the summertime, Boston is in full bloom. Tourists and residents of the city can be found walking about the streets, visiting the parks, and spending time by the water. People of all ages get outdoors to explore and socialize. Griffin took this opportunity to photograph summer leisure activities. He worked in the Public Gardens and Boston Commons, as well as along the Charles River and Boston Harbor. His images capture the joy and excitement of people as they celebrated the summer season.

The following images highlight some of the activities available in Boston. In the first photograph, two small boys are seen playing along the harbor with the city line as a backdrop. The next image is of a woman painting lilacs and enjoying the greenery of Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum. The third image features a group of people sightseeing on a horse-drawn carriage tour. In the following image, crowds of all ages prepare for a concert at the Hatch Shell. The final two photographs depict children and adults taking a break from the urban landscapes and enjoying the public parks.

AG Archive- swimming in the Boston Harbor
Photo by Arthur Griffin, © Griffin Museum of Photography, All rights reserved
Playing by the harbor: Boston, Massachusetts
AG Archive- painting at the Arnold Arboretum
Photo by Arthur Griffin, © Griffin Museum of Photography, All rights reserved
Painting at the Arnold Arboretum: Boston, Massachusetts
AG Archive- horse and carriage ride through Boston
Photo by Arthur Griffin, © Griffin Museum of Photography, All rights reserved
Carriage ride through the city: Boston, Massachusetts
AG Archive- kids at the Hatch Shell concert
Photo by Arthur Griffin, © Griffin Museum of Photography, All rights reserved
Concert at the Hatch Shell: Boston, Massachusetts
AG Archive- frog pond
Photo by Arthur Griffin, © Griffin Museum of Photography, All rights reserved
Boston Common Frog Pond: Boston, Massachusetts
AG Archive- Swan boat and model in the summer
Photo by Arthur Griffin, © Griffin Museum of Photography, All rights reserved
Public Gardens: Boston, Massachusetts

For more photos and information on Boston, see the third installment: Boston Arts and Entertainment.

In the Countryside

In rural areas, summer is seen as an opportunity to explore the great outdoors. Activities include fishing, hiking, and playing sports. The beauty of the New England countryside provided rich material for Griffin to photograph. He captured the dramatic scenery as well as the interesting people he met in his travels.

The following photographs capture the bright and quaint energy of summers in the country. In the first photograph, a group of children parades through a field waving American flags. The next two photos feature young boys fishing and baiting their hooks in classic Americana style. The fourth image is of an adult and child holding hands as they stroll through a covered bridge path. The next image features two boys play boxing in an open field. The final image is a group of teens biking through the countryside on a dirt road.

AG Archive- child parade
Photo by Arthur Griffin, © Griffin Museum of Photography, All rights reserved
School parade: New Hampshire
AG Archive- boys fishing
Photo by Arthur Griffin, © Griffin Museum of Photography, All rights reserved
Fishing in a stream: Maine
AG Archive- Going fishing
Photo by Arthur Griffin, © Griffin Museum of Photography, All rights reserved
Going fishing: North Bennington, Vermont
AG Archive- Vermont bridge walk
Photo by Arthur Griffin, © Griffin Museum of Photography, All rights reserved
Walking under the covered bridge: Vermont
AG Archive- summer play
Photo by Arthur Griffin, © Griffin Museum of Photography, All rights reserved
Play boxing: Deerfield, New Hampshire
AG Archive- biking in New Hampshire
Photo by Arthur Griffin, © Griffin Museum of Photography, All rights reserved
Biking with friends: New Hampshire

For more photos and information on the region’s landscape, see the fifth installment: Landscape Photography.

On the Shoreline

The New England shoreline is a beautiful and vibrant place in the summertime. People can be seen fishing, lounging on the beach, and playing in the ocean. Griffin photographed tourists and locals as they enjoyed the summer sun along the coast. There is a sense of radiance and ease in his photographs.

The following images feature a variety of coastal activities. In the first photo, a family searches for clams in the shallow water. The second image is a scene filled with beachgoers under patterned umbrellas. The next photograph is a silhouetted pair of people walking along the sandbar at low tide. The fourth features a young boy examining a fish caught by a smiling elder. In the fifth image, horses gallop dramatically through the water with waterskiers in tow. The final photograph depicts a woman showing a group of children how to feed geese from the dock.

AG Archive- Maine Clamming
Photo by Arthur Griffin, © Griffin Museum of Photography, All rights reserved
Clamming: Biddeford, Maine
AG Archive- beach goers
Photo by Arthur Griffin, © Griffin Museum of Photography, All rights reserved
Beachgoers: Ogunquit, Maine
AG Archive: two people walking on the beach
Photo by Arthur Griffin, © Griffin Museum of Photography, All rights reserved
Walking the beach: Bailey’s Island, Maine
AG Archive- beach fishing
Photo by Arthur Griffin, © Griffin Museum of Photography, All rights reserved
Fishing on the beach: Cape Cod, Massachusetts
AG Archive- horseback waterskiing
Photo by Arthur Griffin, © Griffin Museum of Photography, All rights reserved
Waterskiing with horses: Provincetown, Massachusetts
AG Archive- feeding geese
Photo by Arthur Griffin, © Griffin Museum of Photography, All rights reserved
Feeding geese on the dock: Cuttyhunk, Massachusetts

For more maritime photos and information, see the fourth installment: New England & the Sea.

Final Thoughts

AG Archive- painting the Gloucester lighthouse
Photo by Arthur Griffin, © Griffin Museum of Photography, All rights reserved
Painting Eastern Point Lighthouse: Gloucester, Massachusetts

Celebrating summer is an important part of New England’s culture. After a long and cold winter, it is liberating to trade in coats for teeshirts and enjoy the outdoors. Griffin’s summertime photos help remind us that many of these seasonal amusements are timeless. Although the modern world looks different, it is interesting to acknowledge which activities and traditions remain. Perhaps as you go about your summer, you will remember these photographs and smile. This was Griffin’s hope all along.

For more information on New England traditions, see the installment first installment: Winter Traditions.

Special thanks to the Boston Public Library for digitizing a large portion of the Arthur Griffin Archive so it may be accessible to the public. If you would like to view more photos and library material, visit the Boston Public Library for the Digital Commonwealth and the Digital Public Library of America.


Madison Marone is an Exhibition Assistant at the Griffin Museum of Photography and a graduate student pursuing her MSc in museum studies at the University of Glasgow. She holds a BA in film studies and sociology from the University of Vermont. Her interests include early to mid-20th-century art history, film theory, and exhibit design.


All images on this webpage © copyright 2021 by the Griffin Museum of Photography. All rights reserved.  No part of this webpage may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the museum except in the case of brief quotations from the written material with citation.

Filed Under: Arthur Griffin Tagged With: Arthur Griffin Archive, Photography, black and white, documentary photography, vintage photographs, Photography Education

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Floor Plan

Amy Rindskopf's Terra Novus

At the market, I pick each one up, pulled in by the shapes as they sit together, waiting. I feel its heft in my hand, enjoy the textures of the skin or peel, and begin to look closer and closer. The patterns on each individual surface marks them as distinct. I push further still, discovering territory unseen by the casual observer, a new land. I am like a satellite orbiting a distant planet, taking the first-ever images of this newly envisioned place.

This project started as an homage to Edward Weston’s Pepper No. 30 (I am, ironically, allergic to peppers). As I looked for my subject matter at the market, I found that I wasn’t drawn to just one single fruit or vegetable. There were so many choices, appealing to both hand and eye. I decided to print in black and white to help make the images visually more about the shapes, and not about guessing which fruit is smoothest, which vegetable is greenest.

Artistic Purpose/Intent

Artistic Purpose/Intent

Tricia Gahagan

 

Photography has been paramount in my personal path of healing from disease and

connecting with consciousness. The intention of my work is to overcome the limits of the

mind and engage the spirit. Like a Zen koan, my images are paradoxes hidden in plain

sight. They are intended to be sat with meditatively, eventually revealing greater truths

about the world and about one’s self.

 

John Chervinsky’s photography is a testament to pensive work without simple answers;

it connects by encouraging discovery and altering perspectives. I see this scholarship

as a potential to continue his legacy and evolve the boundaries of how photography can

explore the human condition.

 

Growing my artistic skill and voice as an emerging photographer is critical, I see this as

a rare opportunity to strengthen my foundation and transition towards an established

and influential future. I am thirsty to engage viewers and provide a transformative

experience through my work. I have been honing my current project and building a plan

for its complete execution. The incredible Griffin community of mentors and the

generous funds would be instrumental for its development. I deeply recognize the

hallmark moment this could be for the introduction of the work. Thank you for providing

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