Walker Evans
1903–1975 · United States
Describing precisely, leaving an enigma.
Explore 9 works ↓
Walker Evans · 1936
Walker Evans · Library of Congress, Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information.
Public domain — fonds FSA/OWI · Reuse conditions · Artwork record
The story
Evans observed the faces, signs, interiors and façades of America. His work for federal programmes in the 1930s intersected with a personal investigation into photographic description. With James Agee, he documented sharecropping families in Alabama. He also photographed subway passengers. The frontality and restraint of his images do not eliminate choices: they organise a particular relationship between document and personal vision.
Understanding the work
Read objects and inscriptions as carefully as faces. An apparently neutral composition can give details a strong presence and shift our understanding of the social context.
Key works and series
American Photographs; Alabama portraits; subway passengers.
Sources & further exploration
A journey through images.
9 worksClick an image to enlarge it. Captions, collections and reuse conditions appear below each work. Captions describe the photographs; the source records retain catalogue titles and provide context.
Walker Evans · 1936
Walker Evans · Library of Congress, Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information.
Public domain — fonds FSA/OWI · Reuse conditions · Artwork record
Walker Evans · Taken in July 1936
Public domain · Artwork record
Walker Evans · 1936-03
Public domain · Artwork record
Walker Evans · 1935-12
Public domain · Artwork record
Walker Evans · between 1935 and 1942
Public domain · Artwork record
Walker Evans (1903-1975) · 1936
Public domain · Artwork record
Walker Evans, for the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information / Office of Emergency Management / Resettlement Administration · 1936
Public domain · Artwork record
Walker Evans, for the Farm Security Administration / Office of War Information / Office of Emergency Management / Resettlement Administration · 1936
Public domain · Artwork record
Walker Evans · 1936-03
Public domain · Artwork record
Works in collections.
11 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.
- Library of Congress · 1936
Allie Mae Burroughs, sharecropper’s wife, Hale County, Alabama
Photograph — FSA/OWI collection
