AFA Autumn 2018

2018 Antiques & Fine Art 125 The Farm Security Administration (FSA) is best known for its Photography Division, which captured the lives of rural commu- nities in distress during the Depression. Directed by Roy E. Stryker, it was active from 1935 to 1944, and operated under the goal of “introducing America to Americans.” Its purpose was to document the plight of the rural poor and the efforts of govern- ment agencies designed to alleviate their distress. It aimed to evoke visceral sympathy for the Americans who needed help the most, and played a large part in creating the image of the Depression in the popular imagination. FSA photographers were required to discuss their shooting script with Stryker before they hit the road. Indeed, they were constantly under instruction from Washington as to what impression they were to portray. Ironically, the photographs were used by both political parties to represent their own interests: Democrats used them to advertise the benefits of government programs, while Republicans adopted images of fortitude as evidence that government intervention was unnecessary. Stryker had a great affection for Vermont. He had a summer cottage on Lake Eden and often lent it to FSA photographers such as Mydans and Delano during their assignments in Vermont. Furthermore, the state was a great location to document the effects of the Depression on farmers and the increase of emigration to the West Coast. The FSA photographs captured diverse sides of Vermont, from images of upright farmers and snowy landscapes to a desolate agrarian society, and rural towns with budding businesses. Carl Mydans (1907–2004), Old Abandoned Farmhouse near Newport, Vermont, August 1936. Modern digital print from scan of original nitrate negative, 6⅞ x 9¼ inches. Courtesy of the Library of Congress. Jack Delano (1914–1997), Barker at the Fairgrounds at Rutland Fair, Vermont, September 1941. Dye transfer print, 7 x 101⁄16 inches. Collection of Williams College Museum of Art; Gift of Richard Jeffrey, Class of 1952.