Baby Blue #13968

The Story

This 1959 Ford Edsel car in baby blue sits in the high prairie grass of a rural junkyard way out in the western Minnesota countryside. There was barely a breeze that day with the intense summer heat of August bearing down. It was a long hot day in the open sun, one of four photography days in a row because this junkyard had quite a few vintage cars like this one spread over many acres.

This fascinating place was a gold mine of great junk to create artwork with! I rambled all through this junkyard from stem to stern and had a great time working at creating artwork. It’s a huge working junkyard that sells parts to collectors from all over and I was able to be there through the kindness of the owners.

According to the Ford Edsel color charts of 1959, the official Dupont color of this car is Light Aqua which the sun has faded to a wonderful pearly blue. A happy color, and remarkably, there was still some glow to it. The interior was light tan and intact. To earn its black eye, the right-hand grille and headlight assembly had been sold off to keep another lovingly restored Edsel elsewhere going, along with a few other pieces of chrome trim.

This car gave up life on the road to living here in the high prairie grass with all the others of its generation that ended up here. Time, weeds, and grass are getting the better of it as it slowly blends into the land. If you look closely, plants are shooting up along the crack of the hood and another has started growing up on the inside behind the steering wheel! Oddly enough, a sister 1959 Ford Edsel lives right next door dressed in a color Dupont called Talisman Red, now faded to a nice pink. Pink and baby blue, side by side.

Location: Kandiyohi County, Minnesota. Picture and story © Andrew Dierks