Every Picture Tells A Story: Documentary Photography and the Great Depression

From 1935 to 1943, photographers working for the federal government produced the most enduring images of the Great Depression. Under the auspices of the Farm Security Administration (FSA), a small group of men and women created a pictorial record of the nation’s hard times, primarily of rural American life. These publicly displayed pictures had a profound impact on contemporary viewers, and more than fify years later the FSA photographs continue to shape Americans’ views about the 1930s. Like other forms of historical evidence, these images conveyed the views of their creators as well as the audiences they were made for. As interpretations photographs remain valuable historical resources, but they need to be studied critically. This interactive exercise allows viewers to examine how some of the photos of the FSA’s Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange were created, which photos were selected for publications, and how they were changed for public presentation.

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