Artwork Page for Family on Relief near Urbana, OH, August 1938

Details / Information for Family on Relief near Urbana, OH, August 1938

Family on Relief near Urbana, OH, August 1938

1938

Ben Shahn

(American, 1898–1969)
Culture
America
Medium
gelatin silver print
Measurements
Image: 16.3 x 24.2 cm (6 7/16 x 9 1/2 in.); Paper: 20.5 x 25.4 cm (8 1/16 x 10 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Samuel J. Lehr 2015.550
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 depicts a woman with a light skin tone from the waist up standing in the dark doorway of a wooden building. She wears a brimmed hat and a floral-patterned apron, her brow furrowed as she looks toward our right. Beside her, a boy in profile from the waist up wears overalls and looks down at a card, standing before the building's wood siding.

Family on Relief near Urbana, OH, August 1938

1938

Ben Shahn

(American, 1898–1969)
America

See Also

Visually Similar by AI

Contact Us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please fill out the appropriate request form linked below:

Update or Correct Artwork Information

Imagery or Rights for Non-Open-Access Artworks

Report a Website Issue

Further Questions About This Artwork