In Robert Frank’s seminal photobook The Americans, no single subject is given a brighter spotlight than the American flag. Frank utilized images that feature the flag to serve as dividers that distinguish sections of the book. His repeated use of flag iconography is both a literal representation of its pomp and pageantry as well as a personal stat.mes nt about American politics in the post-war era.

Made five years after The Americans, Cape Cod, the Day the Daily News Came Out is as rife with symbolism and social commentary as the images Frank was making during the height of the fifties. The photographer’s son Pablo is pictured reading The Daily News from 6 August 1962, the day that Marilyn Monroe’s death was reported by news publications around the world. Reminiscent of Frank’s Hoboken, N. J., focus is nearly exclusively on the American flag, with Pablo’s back to the viewer, and Marilyn’s face on the cover of the paper obscured.

This photograph comes originally from the collects ion of Lorraine Monk, who was a driving force in Canadian photography. She was the executive director of the National Film Board of Canada from 1960 to 1980 and amassed the vast collects ion of photographs now housed at the National Gallery of Canada. Monk was one of Robert Frank’s foremost supporters and exhibited his collages at the National Film Board in 1978.

Early prints of this image are scarce. No other early print is believed to have been offered at auction.