Helen Parker's boys Bruce & Tommy, circa 1953, Greenwich Village, she was my friend when I was in N.Y. Psychiatric Institute a few years earlier, now we'd go to Italian restaurants downstairs on MacDougal Street with Ramblin Jack Eliot.

1953, printed later

Allen Ginsberg

Associated Names
Allen Ginsberg

Artist, American, 1926 - 1997

The image shows two boys from the waist up. The boy on the left is lying down on a couch, resting his head on his arm, while the boy on the right is sitting upright with his hand on his neck. The boy on the left has light-colored, tousled hair. The boy on the right has short, darker hair with a prominent wave at the front, and he is smiling slightly. Both boys are wearing jackets; the one on the right has a patch visible on the sleeve that reads "Civilian Defense Corps." The background features wallpaper with a floral or symmetrical pattern and a chair rail dividing the wall horizontally. The lighting casts shadows, adding to the contrast in the image.
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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    gelatin silver print

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Gary Davis

  • Dimensions

    image: 19.7 × 29.5 cm (7 3/4 × 11 5/8 in.)
    sheet: 27.7 × 35.4 cm (10 7/8 × 13 15/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2015.163.35

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Allen Ginsberg Estate; Gary Davis, Greenwich, CT; gift to NGA, 2015.

Associated Names

Inscriptions

signed by artist, lower right on sheet in black ink: Allen Ginsberg; artist inscription, across bottom under image: Helen Parker's boys Bruce & Tommy, circa 1953, Greenwich Village, she was my friend when I was / in N.Y. Psychiatric Institute a few years earlier, now we'd go to Italian restaurants downstairs on Mac- / Dougal Street with Ramblin Jack Eliot.; on verso, possibly by artist, center in graphite: Book 5 # 16 Neg 15 [crossed out] (Negs Rolled) A.G.; by unknown hand, center in graphite: 1953 / #7/51; lower right stamped in black ink: PHOTO INFORMATION: / YEAR / LOCATION / IMAGE # [by unknown hand in graphite: 81] / SLEEVE # [by unknown hand in graphite: 11] / PRINTED BY / NOTE; by unknown hand, bottom center in graphite: GD-AG-001; bottom right in graphite: GDC-754; bottom right in graphite: EG[?]

Wikidata ID

Q64073764

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