POTW: Red Hook

[Boy walking in Red Hook], ca. 1973, V2008.013.64, Lucille Fornasieri Gold photographs, 2008.013; Brooklyn Historical Society.

The photo of the week depicts an unidentified boy walking in the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, around 1973. Personally, I love the striking red, white, and blue color palate of this photograph. The red fire hydrant, sign, and hat guides my eye throughout the frame. I think this photograph is a good example of how photographer Lucille Fornasieri Gold uses color and light in her work. She has said of her work: “There is always a movement, a gesture, an interesting or bizarre juxtaposition, a color or combination of colors that create a renewed impulse to see.”

This photograph comes from the Lucille Fornasieri Gold photographs collection. In 2008, Lucille donated 93 color and black and white photographs, taken between 1968 and 2008, to BHS. The majority of her photographs depicts streets scenes and portraits of people throughout Brooklyn, Manhattan, and New Jersey. To see more photographs from this collection, check out this gallery.

Interested in seeing more photos from BHS’s collection? Visit our online image gallery, which includes a selection of our images. Interested in seeing even more historic Brooklyn images? Visit our Brooklyn Visual Heritage website here. To search BHS’s entire collection of images, archives, maps, and special collections visit BHS’s Othmer Library Wed-Sat, 1:00-5:00 p.m. library@brooklynhistory.org