The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

New York City

New York City

1951
(American, 1924–2019)
America, 20th century
Gelatin silver print
Image: 28.7 x 19.1 cm (11 5/16 x 7 1/2 in.); Paper: 35.5 x 27.8 cm (14 x 10 15/16 in.); Matted: 50.8 x 40.6 cm (20 x 16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1991.269
© 1979 Robert Frank
Location: not on view

Description

General Douglas MacArthur received a hero’s welcome when he returned from Korea in April 1951 after being relieved of his command there by President Harry Truman; the two disagreed about escalating the Korean War. Robert Frank took this image on Wall Street. His composition visually rhymes the gung-ho patriotism of the sign endorsing MacArthur (and thus dissenting with the president) with the “meats” sign, which suggests a land of plenty but also hints at the costs of war. The photographer, a Swiss émigré who arrived in New York City in 1947, placed his own reflection in the middle of the American flag.
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, Tom E Hinson. Catalogue of Photography. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1996. Reproduced: P. 169
  • A New York Minute: Street Photography, 1920-1950. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 11-November 7, 2021).
    Main gallery rotation (Gallery 229A): April 11, 2016 -
  • {{cite web|title=New York City|url=false|author=Robert Frank|year=1951|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1991.269