GT-25-0006 Getty Images, "Guys and Gals on the Beach", Tom Kelley Archive, 1964

This vibrant photograph captures the carefree spirit of California beach culture, featuring a cheerful group of young beachgoers as they pose with their surfboards and a Ford Mustang in 1964. The scene perfectly embodies the quintessential American beach lifestyle, where surf meets automotive culture in a celebration of youth, freedom, and the golden age of California coastal living.

This photograph represents Kelley's mastery in capturing the essence of 1960s lifestyle photography, documenting the emerging surf culture that was transforming California's beaches into symbols of American leisure and adventure. The image showcases the convergence of two iconic American symbols - the surfboard and the automobile - representing the mobile, sun-soaked lifestyle that defined the era. This scene embodies the optimistic spirit of the mid-1960s when California's beach culture was becoming a national phenomenon, influencing fashion, music, and youth culture across America. The photograph captures a moment when surfing evolved from a niche Hawaiian tradition into a mainstream cultural movement, with young Americans embracing the freedom and rebellion that came with chasing waves and living life on their own terms.

Tom Kelley Sr. (1914-1984) was an American photographer who began his career as an apprentice in a New York photo studio serving the city's social elite, including the Vanderbilts, Astors, and Morgans, before working for the Associated Press and Town & Country magazine. After moving to California in 1935, Kelley established a Hollywood photography studio and became renowned for his promotional photographs of motion picture stars, working with legendary producers David O. Selznick and Samuel Goldwyn to photograph stars including Gary Cooper, Greta Garbo, James Cagney, Clark Gable, and Marilyn Monroe. He is best known for his iconic 1949 nude photographs of Marilyn Monroe, which were distributed widely as calendar art and featured in the inaugural issue of Playboy magazine in 1953. Later transitioning to commercial and advertising photography, Kelley became one of the leading exponents in the field, documenting American lifestyle and culture through his distinctive lens.

Every piece in our unique Tom Kelley collection is meticulously handcrafted using archival materials and printed on premium, luster photographic paper with environmentally safe inks, custom framed by skilled artisans who ensure that each work of art meets the exacting standards befitting such an iconic photograph.