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June 1941. Greene County, Georgia. "Family who has just come back from a funeral." Medium-format nitrate negative by Jack Delano. View full size.
Handsome family indeed!
The two older brothers look so alike it makes me wonder if they're twins.
The grandmotherly figure on the left seems to exude sweetness. You know she loved on those children with all her heart.
I agree with the imagining of commenter I am singin now. In fact, I think we have two grown brothers and a sister who's just lost her husband. As for the sweater, he was forced by one of his womanfolk to put it back on for the photograph. He struggled it back on as far as we see here, when he said, "Just take the photograph already."
Having spent a few summers in Georgia, I'm getting a vicarious heat rash from this photo. Attending a funeral demands one's best clothes, but I can well imagine how uncomfortable these mourners must be.
and a fascinating portrait. Does the spacing of the individuals hint at their relationships? And who died? In my imagination, the older woman is the proud grandmother of the two beautiful little boys. Her easy smile suggests to me that it is neither her spouse nor her child who has passed away -- just as the grimace of the right-most woman leaves me wondering if it is her husband who was buried on this day. The man standing next to her (on the far right) is further back and somewhat apart from the rest of the family. The two men certainly favor each other -- brothers? The yard appears to be neatly swept and everyone is dressed in their well-pressed Sunday Best (one can excuse the little boys who may have refused to put their shoes back on for the photo). But how did the middle man forget to turn down the waistband of his sweater vest?
A unique moment in time, captured forever by the talented Jack Delano.
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