Published on the occasion of an exhibition of the same name organized by the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut, and held there January 31-May 31, 2015; at the San Diego Museum of Art, Calif., July 11-October 13, 2015; at the Brooklyn Museum, N.Y., November 20, 2015-March 13, 2016; and at the McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Tex., May 11-September 11, 2016.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Speculating at Coney Island / John F. Kasson -- Visions of an American dreamland: Down at Coney Isle (1861-1894) / Robin Jaffee Frank -- The world's greatest playground (1895-1929) / Robin Jaffee Frank -- The nickel empire (1930-1939) / Robin Jaffee Frank -- A Coney Island of the mind (1940-1961) / Robin Jaffee Frank -- Requiem for a dream (1962-2008) / Robin Jaffee Frank -- Cinema by the seashore: Twins of the amusement world (1895-1920) / Charles Musser and Josh Glick -- Creating the Hollywood couple (1927-1949) / Josh Glick -- Cameras at Coney (1940-1953) / Charles Musser -- Nostalgia, nightmares, and the spirit of resilience (1971-2008) / Josh Glick -- Political in nature: the new Coney Island / Charles Denson.

"Called "America's playground," Coney Island is a world-famous resort and national cultural symbol that has inspired music, literature, and films. This groundbreaking book is the first to look at the site's enduring status as inspiration for artists throughout the ages, from its inception as an elite seaside resort in the mid-19th century, to its evolution into an entertainment mecca for the masses, with the eventual closing of its iconic amusement park, Astroland, in 2008 after decades of urban decline. How artists chose to portray Coney Island between 1861 and 2008--in tableaux of wonder and menace, hope and despair, dreams and nightmares--mirrored the aspirations and disappointments of the era. This dazzling catalogue highlights more than 200 images from Coney Island's history, including paintings, drawings, photographs, prints, posters, film stills, architectural artifacts, and carousel animals. An extraordinary array of artists is represented, from George Bellows, William Merritt Chase, Reginald Marsh, and Joseph Stella to Diane Arbus, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Robert Frank, Red Grooms, Weegee, and Swoon. Essays by prominent scholars analyze Coney Island through its imagery and ephemera as both a place and an idea--one that reflected the collective soul of the nation."--Publisher's description.