“It’s like a long-gone America”: CNN’s #Throwback Thursday

Man and woman share a public bench, New York Public Library, 1949.

When asked by CNN’s Kyle Almond about the image above, gallery owner Thierry Bigaignon responded:

“When you see Feinstein’s picture you think: ‘Wow what a beautiful world. What a beautiful America. It’s like a long-gone America.'”

Cramped Quarters, 1953

A month ago I heard from Clint Alwahab, senior photo editor at CNN, about featuring Harold’s work for #Throwback Thursday, a weekly franchise that showcases pictures of the past. “From historic events to memorable people, we explore the photography that has shaped our world.”

Happily the loop was closed last week when Kyle interviewed Thierry Bigaignon about his exhibition currently hanging entitled Contagious Optimism. Fourteen images were chosen for the photoessay. Here are a few of them with Thierry’s commentary.

“He had a way of looking at the world, and a way of photographing the world, with a lot of tenderness and optimism.”

Sightseeing bus, New York, 1956.

“He’s the kind of photographer who took great care at composing his images in a very fine way, even though he was working very quickly. He was very much focused on composition and that’s probably one of the skills he had mastered better than others.”

Thank you CNN and Thierry Bigaignon.