Three Things: Swimming Edition

As a kid I was never much interested in swimming; at least not in comparison to the other kids around me. I always preferred to go to the woods before the beach. But even then, I understood the draw. The immediate relief on hot summer days, the opportunity to splash and flail your limbs about without the worry of bruises, the soft blip of the water’s surface as you quietly float on your back, staring into the sky.

This week we’re going swimming. And then we’re going to write about it. Who’s with me?

Toni Frissell, Model at Weeki Wachee Spring, Florida, 1947. Photograph. Originally published in Harper’s Bazaar in December 1947. Via Shorpy.

David Hockney, A Bigger Splash, 1947. Acrylic on canvas. Tate Modern, London.

John Batho, Nageuses #01, 1990. Photograph. www.johnbatho.com