Atlantic City Beach

© Estate of Reginald Marsh / Art Students League, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New …
© Estate of Reginald Marsh / Art Students League, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Atlantic City Beach
© Estate of Reginald Marsh / Art Students League, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photograph and digital image © Delaware Art Museum. Not for reproduction or publication.

Atlantic City Beach

Date1931
Artist (American painter, printmaker, 1898–1954)
MediumEgg tempera on canvas on plywood
Dimensions36 x 60 in. (91.4 x 152.4 cm)
frame: 41 1/2 × 65 1/2 in. (105.4 × 166.4 cm)
Credit LineBequest of Mrs. Reginald Marsh, 1979
Object number1979-48
On View
On view
ClassificationsPAINTING
Label TextReginald Marsh was drawn to the vitality of common life. A favorite motif was the public beach, particularly the beaches at Coney Island and Atlantic City where New Yorkers went to escape the summer heat. This crowded scene with its intertwined figures and leering glances shows the beach to provide little respite from summer in the city.

At the center of the painting, the artist included a single African American woman. Her presence reflects the history of that locale. Beaches in Atlantic City were not officially segregated, but beachfront hotel owners discouraged African Americans from using the beaches immediately in front of their hotels.

Black beachgoers began to gather on the beaches between Missouri and Mississippi Avenues. The area, known locally as Chicken Bone Beach for the large volume of chicken bones discarded there, attracted top African American entertainers.

© Estate of Reginald Marsh / Art Students League, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New …
Reginald Marsh
1922
© Estate of Reginald Marsh / Art Students League, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New …
Reginald Marsh
1935, printed 1969
© Estate of Reginald Marsh / Art Students League, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New …
Reginald Marsh
1931
© Estate of Reginald Marsh / Art Students League, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New …
Reginald Marsh
1931
© Estate of Reginald Marsh / Art Students League, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New …
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Photograph and digital image © Delaware Art Museum. Not for reproduction or publication.
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© Estate of John W. McCoy. Photograph and digital image © Delaware Art Museum. Not for reproduc…
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© Delaware Art Museum / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Not for reproduction or publica…
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© Estate of Paul Cadmus. VAGA for ARS, New York, NY. Photograph and digital image © Delaware Ar…
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