America in Color from 1939 - 1943. Photos from the Farm Security Administration
26 January 2011
Wandering around online I came across a wonderful post by the Denver Post - of colour photography from 1939-1943. These pictures were part of a huge project commissioned by the Farm Security Administration (part of the New Deal in the US). They commissioned writers and photographers (including Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange and Gordon Parks) to document the effects of rural poverty and tell a story of how people lived day to day during and after the depression. Ben Shahn, who I posted something about previously was involved with this project. Originally over 250,000 photos were taken but less than half survive today. They are now housed in the Library of Congress. I've seen lots of the famous black and white ones, but never any in colour, and they are really sumptuous.
Here is a link to the post:
http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2010/07/26/captured-america-in-color-from-1939-1943/
I actually found it via Betty, a fan on my Facebook page - on her own blog. When I looked just now I couldn't actually find it but their page is well worth checking out as they have lots of other amazing things at the pixelated blog so you definitely won't be bored.
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