Artwork Page for Main and Court Streets, Circleville, Ohio

Details / Information for Main and Court Streets, Circleville, Ohio

Main and Court Streets, Circleville, Ohio

1938

Ben Shahn

(American, 1898–1969)
Culture
America
Medium
gelatin silver print
Measurements
Image: 14.5 x 23 cm (5 11/16 x 9 1/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Samuel J. Lehr 2015.545
Copyright
© Estate of Ben Shahn / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location
Not on view
Print

Description

American painter and printmaker Ben Shahn also had a significant career as a photographer in the 1930s surveying the impact of the Great Depression on the American people. In July and August 1938, the Farm Security Administration, a federal agency, commissioned Shahn to cover the harvest in Central Ohio. His photographs constitute an invaluable in-depth portrait of rural and small town life in 1930s Ohio.
A horizontally oriented black-and-white photograph looks down a sidewalk receding into a distant point. On our left, patterned fabrics and socks fill a storefront window. Above, a large, ornate metal sign for "GALLAHER'S DRUGS" juts over the pavement. A man and boy walk toward us, while another figure in suspenders walks away, passing signs for a physician and dentist. To our right, vintage cars and a towering utility pole frame the street.

Main and Court Streets, Circleville, Ohio

1938

Ben Shahn

(American, 1898–1969)
America

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