“The Most Beautiful Suicide”
In 1947, 23-year-old Evelyn McHale jumped from the observation deck of the Empire State Building onto a limousine which was parked below. Photography student Robert Wiles heard the explosive crash and shot this photo soon afterward. Years later, pop artist Andy Warhol appropriated the shot for an art print.
Time later wrote of McHale, “Everything about her pose—her gloved hand clutching her necklace; her gently crossed ankles; her right hand with its gracefully curved fingers—suggests that she is momentarily quiet, perhaps thinking of her plans for later in the day, or daydreaming of her beau.”
