Penny Picture Display, Savannah
Walker Evans
Description
In Penny Picture Display, Savannah, Evans doubly references the act of constructing images. In this photograph, a shop window is positioned parallel with the picture plane itself, rendering it nearly invisible. The word "STUDIO" emblazoned across the upper register is one of the few clues alerting viewers to the window's presence in front of a grid-like arrangement of bust-length studio portraits of local citizens. By photographing other photographs, Evans points to the central and complex role played by photography in representing ourselves and our communities.
Evans made this photograph while working for the Farm Security Administration (FSA), a U.S. Government program created for the purpose of documenting the effects of the Great Depression. Evans soon left the FSA due to creative differences with its director, Roy Stryker (1893-1975); yet, the photographs from his short stint with the agency remain some of the most iconic depictions of the economic blight that affected much of the country for over a decade.
Subject Matter:
This image depicts a window display of a portrait photographer in the South during the Great Depression. On each large print are fifteen portraits, of men and women, young and old. The word "STUDIO" is emblazoned across the display.
Physical Description:
This image shows a collage of portraits in a storefront window labeled "STUDIO."
Usage Rights:
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