[Two Elderly Men Conversing]

Informally seated on the porch of a small store in a Southern town as they gesture and tell tales, these two men present a quintessentially American image. Walker Evans made this image in Selma, Alabama, but for him this scene could have taken place in any small town in the South.

Evans's aim was to capture the particular nature of American culture. People, vernacular architecture, storefronts, signs, and cars were some of his chosen subjects. Today these images recall a simpler time when leisurely summer afternoons were spent on porches talking with fellow townsfolk.