Untitled (52670)

1959

Brooklyn Gang: Untitled (52670), 1959. Bruce Davidson (American, b. 1933). Gelatin silver print; paper: 20.3 x 25.4 cm (8 x 10 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of an anonymous donor 2018.710 © Bruce Davidson/Magnum Photos The pleasures and agonies of teenage romance are captured in Bruce Davidson’s photographs of the gang’s dance parties, which were held variously in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, at a neighborhood school, and in members’ homes. The basement wallpaper seen here—with its fairy-tale figures, including horses, queens, knights, marionettes, and jokers—suggests a domestic setting. The event could have been a farewell party for an older gang member going off to join the army, which was a common occurrence. One of Davidson’s best-known series, Brooklyn Gang was inspired by a news story about a teenage gang called the Jokers.