The Woodmans at the 1964 New York World's Fair
L to R: Betty, Charles, and Francesca Woodman in front of the New York World's Fair Unisphere, 1964 / Charles and Francesca Woodman in front of Thailand's pavilion, 1964 / Bird's eye view of the New York World's Fair, 1964. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
Sixty years ago, before they had traveled much of the world together, the Woodman family visited the 1964-1965 New York World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. George caught a few of the day’s highlights on film, including Betty, Charlie and Francesca in front of the Unisphere—a Queens landmark originally built for the fair—and Francesca and Charlie in front of Thailand’s pavilion. They also went to the RCA pavilion, which had a camera beaming pictures of the public straight to color TVs. As George later recounted, Francesca couldn’t wait to see herself on television, imagining her transformation into a glamorous actress, but was disappointed to see that she remained a six-year old girl in an ordinary dress.