Accession Number
2013/2.130

Title
Penny Picture Display, Savannah

Artist(s)
Walker Evans

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1936, printed 1990

Medium & Support
gelatin silver print on paper

Dimensions
20 in x 16 in (50.8 cm x 40.64 cm)

Credit Line
Gift from the Collection of David S. Rosen MD, MPH Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division Reproduction #(LC-USF 342-8097A 503166)

Label copy
In Penny Picture Display, Savannah, Evans doubly references the act of constructing images. In this photograph, a shop window is positioned parallel with the picture plane itself, rendering it nearly invisible. The word "STUDIO" emblazoned across the upper register is one of the few clues alerting viewers to the window's presence in front of a grid-like arrangement of bust-length studio portraits of local citizens. By photographing other photographs, Evans points to the central and complex role played by photography in representing ourselves and our communities.

Evans made this photograph while working for the Farm Security Administration (FSA), a U.S. Government program created for the purpose of documenting the effects of the Great Depression. Evans soon left the FSA due to creative differences with its director, Roy Stryker (1893-1975); yet, the photographs from his short stint with the agency remain some of the most iconic depictions of the economic blight that affected much of the country for over a decade.

Subject matter
This image depicts a window display of a portrait photographer in the South during the Great Depression. On each large print are fifteen portraits, of men and women, young and old. The word "STUDIO" is emblazoned across the display.

Physical Description
This image shows a collage of portraits in a storefront window labeled "STUDIO."

Primary Object Classification
Photograph

Collection Area
Photography

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form. Keywords
photography (process)
photography studios (organizations)
schools (buildings)
yearbooks