Jacob Riis
1849–1914 · Denmark / United States
Photographing the housing a city would rather ignore.
The story
An immigrant journalist in New York, Jacob Riis used texts, photographs and lectures to denounce housing conditions in working-class neighbourhoods. How the Other Half Lives appeared in 1890. Flash lighting made certain very dark interiors visible. His images were part of a reforming project whose social categories and perspective on the people photographed also need to be questioned.
Understanding the work
Examine what the light reveals and the position imposed on the people. Then compare the framing with the captions and publication context.
Key works and series
How the Other Half Lives; Lower East Side housing; Bandit’s Roost.
Sources & further exploration
Works in collections.
10 recordsPhotographs to explore on museum and library websites, with titles, dates and processes. Each link opens the collection record and its image where one is available.
- MoMA · 1889
In Poverty Gap, West 28th Street: An English Coal-heaver's Home
Gelatin silver print, printed 1957
