Restaurant – U.S. 1 leaving Columbia, South Carolina
This study of a roadside cafe in South Carolina features Oral Roberts, the famous American televangelist, preaching the Gospel on television to an otherwise empty room. It is one of eighty-three photographs in The Americans (1958), Robert Frank’s landmark book that directly explored the many anxieties lurking beneath the country’s seeming prosperity ten years after the end of the Great Depression and World War II. Frank focused his camera on racial segregation, on the developing hostility between the youth culture and the status quo, on rural loneliness and urban angst, and, as shown here, on the many cultural changes wrought by the nascent television culture.
Artwork Details
- Title: Restaurant – U.S. 1 leaving Columbia, South Carolina
- Artist: Robert Frank (American (born Switzerland), Zurich 1924–2019 Inverness, Nova Scotia)
- Date: 1955
- Medium: Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions: Image: 8 15/16 × 13 3/8 in. (22.7 × 34 cm)
Mount: 8 15/16 × 13 3/8 in. (22.7 × 34 cm) - Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: Gift of Barbara Schwartz, in honor of Joyce Menschel, 2016
- Object Number: 2016.789
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Robert Frank (American (born Switzerland), Zurich 1924–2019 Inverness, Nova Scotia)
1993
Robert Frank (American (born Switzerland), Zurich 1924–2019 Inverness, Nova Scotia)
2009
Robert Frank (American (born Switzerland), Zurich 1924–2019 Inverness, Nova Scotia)
1958
Robert Frank (American (born Switzerland), Zurich 1924–2019 Inverness, Nova Scotia)
1959
Robert Frank (American (born Switzerland), Zurich 1924–2019 Inverness, Nova Scotia)
1958
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.