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In 1936 Sid Grossman cofounded the Photo League in New York City, an organization to “promote photography as a tool to effect social change.” The Photo League influenced a generation of emerging documentary photographers before disbanding in 1951 at the height of the Red Scare, after the FBI accused members of communist political activities.

Grossman took this photograph in the summer of 1947 or 1948, when he was regularly documenting vibrant and intimate human interactions on the beaches of Coney Island in New York. Capturing a tender moment between a young couple, this image offers a close look at the man’s back, which bears a whimsical, amorous message. It appears to be burned into his skin but is likely just wet sand that can be washed away, a fitting metaphor for summer love.