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A painterly color reinterpretation of a turn-of-century beach scene. On the left, deep blue Atlantic surf rolls in against a bright sand shore; small figures in dark blue bathing dress wade in the water; children play at the water's edge. In the middle, dozens of Edwardian figures in white shirts, blue dresses, and dark trousers sit on the sand or walk along it; a small beach cart occupies the center. On the right, a long thatched-roof pavilion built on a heavy timber-piled sea wall runs down the frame; visitors line the upper railings under sun-hats. A matron with a dark blue paisley parasol occupies the near foreground beside a bench of seated women in white.
COLORIZED

Ocean bathing at Highland Beach · painterly reinterpretation

ca. 1900

Highland Beach, foot of Sandy Hook

A full-color painterly reinterpretation of the turn-of-the-century Highland Beach ocean-bathing photograph. The elevated Sandlass pavilion runs down the right on its timber-piled sea wall; bathers in the dark woolen suits of the period stand in the surf and on the sand; a matron with a paisley parasol occupies the near foreground. Deep saturated blues in the Atlantic, warm sandy tones underfoot, cerulean sky above. An AI-assisted painterly re-interpretation of the underlying black-and-white photograph; the composition is faithful to the original.

The photograph and a painterly reinterpretation

A sepia photograph of a summer beach at Highland Beach around 1900. A tall wooden pavilion built on a timber-piled sea wall runs down the right side of the frame; the upper deck is thatched and crowded with figures in white summer dress. On the beach below, dozens of figures in dark woolen bathing suits and long skirts stand on the sand or wade in the surf; a matron holds a dark parasol at bottom-right; a small beach cart sits at center; the ocean stretches to a flat horizon at the left.
A painterly color reinterpretation of a turn-of-century beach scene. On the left, deep blue Atlantic surf rolls in against a bright sand shore; small figures in dark blue bathing dress wade in the water; children play at the water's edge. In the middle, dozens of Edwardian figures in white shirts, blue dresses, and dark trousers sit on the sand or walk along it; a small beach cart occupies the center. On the right, a long thatched-roof pavilion built on a heavy timber-piled sea wall runs down the frame; visitors line the upper railings under sun-hats. A matron with a dark blue paisley parasol occupies the near foreground beside a bench of seated women in white.

Item record

Title
Ocean bathing at Highland Beach · painterly reinterpretation
Date
ca. 1900
Source
Painterly reinterpretation by Above the Hook · after a turn-of-century photograph in the New York Public Library
Contributor
Above the Hook · reinterpretation of a turn-of-century photograph
Rights
Underlying photograph public domain (over 100 years old); reinterpretation CC BY-SA · Above the Hook
Slug
ocean-bathing-highland-beach-colorized

Verification: unverified.

Cite this item

Ocean bathing at Highland Beach · painterly reinterpretation (ca. 1900). Painterly reinterpretation by Above the Hook · after a turn-of-century photograph in the New York Public Library The Highlands History Project, https://history.abovethehook.com/archive/ocean-bathing-highland-beach-colorized/.