PHOTOGRAPHS
Hine, Lewis Wickes
U.S. (1874 - 1940)
Powerhouse Mechanic
1921
Gelatin silver print
9 5/8 x 6 7/8 in. (24.5 x 17.5 cm) image size; 9 11/16 x 7 1/8 in. (24.6 x 18.1 cm) sheet size
Joseph and Elaine Monsen Photography Collection, gift of Joseph and Elaine Monsen and The Boeing Company
FA 97.79

Lewis Hine's photographs are significant for their detailed chronicle of city life in America from about 1905 through the 1930s. His work powerfully documented the impact of the Industrial Revolution on the lives of the underprivileged and exploited. He photographed sweatshop employees, immigrants as they entered Ellis Island, the Red Cross at work and breadlines during the Depression. His extensive documentation of bedraggled child laborers led to the adoption of strict child labor laws. During the 1920s and 1930s, Hine widened his focus and began to photograph factory and construction workers, as seen in this work. This collection of photographs, and others featuring Americans in the workplace, was published in 1932 as Men at Work. Although Hine died in 1940 virtually unknown and penniless, his works are now recognized as treasures of America's national heritage. -- Label copy for After Art: Rethinking 150 Years of Photography, December 4, 1994 to March 26, 1995.