Understanding America Through Art, Unit III
The Truth Tellers
Bow River, Blackfoot, circa 1900 – Edward Curtis
Understanding America Through Art
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Unit III, page 1
GLOSSARY
African Americans
citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa
Angle
refers to the specific location of the camera in relation to the subject; depending on the angle of the shot,
subjects may be seen centered, high, low or fading out of the photograph; effects the way the viewer
perceives the subject
Civil War (1861 – 1865)
the war between Southern slave states of the U.S. and the free states of the Northern U.S.
Depth
(depth of field) the amount of distance between the nearest and farthest objects that appear in acceptably
sharp focus in a photograph. To influence the attention paid to the subject of the photo, the photographer
may select elements of the photo and portray them out of focus to diminish their impact.
Emancipation Proclamation (1862, 1863)
the executive order issued the U.S. President Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War, declaring the
freedom of all slaves in any state
Farm Security Administration
a government assistance group that helped poor farmers by purchasing their poor quality land, and by
resettling farmers on more productive soil
Focus
the clarity with which subjects and surrounding space is photographed
Great Depression (1929 – 1941 U.S.)
An economic recession that began on October 29, 1929, following the crash of the U.S. stock market. The
Great Depression originated in the United States, but quickly spread to Europe and the rest of the world.
Lasting nearly a decade, the Depression caused massive levels of poverty, hunger, unemployment and
political unrest.
Grayscale medium
one-color images which make distinctions between darker and lighter shades of gray in order to show
depth of subject or details
Hampton Institute Project
a photographic record by photographer Frances Johnston of the Hampton Institute, a school for the
education of blacks into skilled labor trades
Harlem Renaissance
also known as the Black Literary Renaissance and the New Negro Movement, it refers to the flowering of
African American cultural and intellectual life during the 1920s and 1930s
John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath
inspired by the photographs of Dorothea Lange, a novel set during the Great Depression that focuses on
one poor family’s peril when driven from their home by drought, economic hardship and changes in the
agriculture industry; Steinbeck won The Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Light
in photography, the amount of exposure given to a subject, usually determined by the length of time the
shutter is open
Understanding America Through Art
SACSCE HS Subj 6-09
Unit III, page 2
Manifest Destiny (circa 1939) also known as Westward Movement
the historical belief that the U.S. was destined, even divinely ordained, to expand across the North
American continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, conquering and colonizing all territories occupied by
Native Americans, Texans (then independent) or Mexicans
Native Americans
indigenous tribes of Indians living in North and South America
Romanticism
an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that stresses strong emotion as the source of appreciation;
romanticism opposes the scientific rationalization of nature
The Union Pacific Railroad
the nation’s first transcontinental railroad line, stretching from Omaha, Nebraska to the California-Nevada
line; the historical undertaking was photographed principally by William Jackson.
Trail of Tears
the forced relocation and movement of Native Americans in the United States from their homelands during
which many suffered from exposure, disease and starvation
Tuskegee Institute, Alabama
a school founded for the education and training of newly emancipated black slaves; first opened in 1881,
the principal photographer who helped publicize the success of the school’s students was Frances Johnston
Visual Arts
one-dimensional art forms that focus on the creation of works which are primarily visual in nature, such as
drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, and filmmaking. Visual arts includes fine arts as well as
crafts.
Yellowstone National Park
located primarily in the state of Wyoming, and spreading into Montana and Idaho, the nation’s first national
park, so designated for its wildlife and many geothermal features; first photographed by William Jackson
Understanding America Through Art
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Unit III, page 3
Why Black and White Photography?
According to some, photography has been our country’s greatest single contribution to the visual
arts. To understand this claim, we will take a look back beginning with its establishment on
American soil in the mid-nineteenth century, as the invention of cameras in France and Britain
appeared in the U.S.
Americans found the new art of photography immensely appealing. Here was an art form that
used technology together with an artful eye for composition. But most importantly, the result
was a truthful representation of historic events. Unlike artists’ renderings of romantic
landscapes, photos faithfully presented reality. We call these photographers The Truth Tellers.
This unit focuses on black and white (B&W) photography, distinguishing it from the color variety
for two reasons:
 our American history of the mid to late 1800s is captured within the black and white
archives
 the composition of a black and white photograph is a creation of angle, depth, light and
focus, a work of art
A. Do you like black and white photography? Do you have any family pictures in black and
white?
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Family moving in wagon, 1918. Anonymous.
Understanding America Through Art
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Unit III, page 4
B&W
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photos also hold a major position of importance in telling bracing stories such as:
the American westward movement
the Civil War and other atrocities
the developing western frontier
Native American culture
the emergence of immigrants and African Americans into the middle class
This unit features the works of six uniquely gifted Americans, and at photography from
landscapes to portraits, bringing the photographic perspective and the story of a developing
nation into clear focus.
B. What can you tell about who these people are? What are they doing?
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Negro men and women working in a field, Bayou Bourbeaux Plantation. Natchitoches, Louisiana
– Marion Walcott
As you read about the American photographers, view their work with a critical eye and learn
to appreciate the grayscale medium. Ask yourself three questions about the photographs in this
unit:
1. Does this image help open your eyes to new thoughts and emotions?
2. Does this photograph help you see the world in a way you may not have seen it before?
3. Can you imagine this photograph in color using many different hues?
Understanding America Through Art
SACSCE HS Subj 6-09
Unit III, page 5
Mathew B. Brady (1823 – 1896)
At the age of 24, Brady opened his own photographic studio in
New York City. An instant sensation, he coordinated the
efforts of a team of camera operators, chemists, re-touchers,
colorists and other assistants to keep pace with the crush of
famous political leaders and celebrities who flocked to his
studio to have their pictures taken.
Brady’s success spread to Washington D.C. where he
photographed every living president of the United States, from
John Quincy Adams to William McKinley. Brady’s photograph
of Abraham Lincoln was the most important, for cartoons
depicted presidential candidate Lincoln as an ugly country
bumpkin, Brady produced an image that presented him in the
most appealing, dignified manner. The photograph at left was
the first that Lincoln had taken showing him as a statesman fit
for the role of the presidency.
Abraham Lincoln, 1860 – M. Brady
Delighted with the quality of his image, Lincoln distributed the
photograph throughout the country. At his election, he
declared that Brady had played a major role in promoting his
popularity.
C. How do you think the photograph of Lincoln tells the truth about the man?
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The Civil War Brought Home by Mathew Brady
Like no other graphic medium, photographs carried a burden of truth. Photographs of events had
superiority over lithographs (inked prints), engravings (cut grooves) or artists’ hand-drawn
illustrations, as newspapers were quick to determine, and based their print reproduction on them.
The most spectacular, sensational and
disheartening subject during the late 1800s
was the Civil War, photographed in graphic
realism by Brady and his associates. While
paintings and hand-drawn images of the war
effort employed romanticism, portraying
cleanly sketched hospitals and the heroic
struggle of soldiers who may be wounded but
not defeated, photographs captured a different
war image, that of death and disfigurement,
starvation of prisoners of war, and dirty,
crowded field hospitals.
Understanding America Through Art
Dead Boy in the Road at Fredericksburg, 1863 – M. Brady
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Oliver Wendell Holmes’s reaction to seeing a series of photographs after one great battle
represented this public enlightenment: “These wrecks of manhood thrown together in careless
heaps or ranged in ghastly rows for burial were alive but yesterday…It was so nearly like visiting
the battlefield …”.
Clearly photography brought home the horror and reality of war, in opposition to its pageantry.
In the photo on the right, the orderly, wellregimented position of the commanders
surrounding the canon seems to have captured a
proud moment suitable for a recruitment poster.
The Peninsular Campaign, 1862. J. F. Gibson
But the reality of war, like the photograph
at left of nearly skeletal bodies of prisoners
of war, elicited fascination, revulsion and
anger. At the end of the war, images like
these were buried in archives to wait for
future generations’ viewing, free of personal
recollections of the atrocities of war.
Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, 1884 - Anonymous
Understanding America Through Art
SACSCE HS Subj 6-09
Unit III, page 7
William Henry Jackson (1843 – 1942)
High Bridge in Loop, Colorado, 1828 – W. Jackson
Will Jackson was no fan of Civil War or portrait photography, preferring subjects found in nature
from mountaintops. Jackson settled in Nebraska where he opened his first photographic studio.
The Union Pacific Railroad built the first transcontinental rail passage, and hired Jackson to
photograph the progress of the tracklayers. From this unique vantage point, his photos
impressed all who saw them, especially Ferdinand Hayden, who was appointed to survey vast
areas of the West that were still largely unknown to most U.S. citizens.
Colorado, 1891 – W. Jackson
Teller County, Colorado Tunnel, 1887
– W. Jackson
Understanding America Through Art
SACSCE HS Subj 6-09
Unit III, page 8
Hayden, accompanied by Jackson, led an expedition into Wyoming’s Yellowstone region, one of
the most rugged areas of the western territories. Very few people other than Native Americans
had ever set foot there. Here were majestic, snowcapped mountains, enormous waterfalls and
canyons flanked by odd rock formations. Perhaps most amazing of all were the natural geysers
that sent fountains of water exploding high into the air. Springs of boiling water bubbled
continuously.
Mammoth Hot Springs geothermal wonders, circa 1883 – W. Jackson
Old Faithful Geyser, 1883 – W. Jackson
Jackson, tireless and undiscouraged by the challenge of lugging burdensome equipment , spent
many hours searching for the perfect scene, waiting for the light to cast the perfect illumination.
Imagine lugging three cameras, several tripods, boxes of chemicals, a portable developing tent
and huge glass negatives that often came loose from their cases strapped to the back of his
mule, crashing to the ground!
D. What are some of
the challenges
Jackson must have
overcome as he
lugged more than 100
pounds of equipment
up a mountain on the
back of a mule?
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The Photographer’s Assistants, circa 1875 – Anonymous
Understanding America Through Art
SACSCE HS Subj 6-09
Unit III, page 9
Jackson’s remarkable photographs, rich in variety and awe-inspiring in content, were used to
persuade Congress to establish the Yellowstone Region as the country’s first national park. His
legacy as a landscape photographer was honored when the lake in Wyoming’s Grand Teton
National Park was named for him.
Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming – Anonymous
Understanding America Through Art
SACSCE HS Subj 6-09
Unit III, page 10
Frances Benjamin Johnston (1864 – 1952) and James Van Der Zee (1886 –
1983)
Two photographers who greatly influenced the rise of African Americans into the middle class
were Frances Johnston of Washington, D.C., and James Van Der Zee of Massachusetts. After the
Civil War and Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation that would free the nation of slavery, African
Americans continued to suffer public prejudice ranging from bitter widespread racism, even
lynchings, to severely limited opportunities or indifference Popular and powerful writers,
cartoonists and theater shows, depicted them as lazy and unintelligent.
Frances Johnston was the nation’s first female
photojournalist, and accustomed to breaking down
barriers. The self-portrait at right shows her flaunting
social taboos of smoking, drinking and revealing her
ankles. She forged the way for women to enter and
be accepted into the male-dominated world of
photography in grand fashion by exhibiting works in
Russia and Paris, receiving wide acclaim.
Her success led to a request from General Samuel
Chapman Armstrong, founder of the Hampton Institute
in Virginia, to have Johnston photograph uneducated
young African American students training to become
skilled laborers. Hampton students were taught to be
carpenters, cobblers, milliners, cooks, and trades
people of all kinds. Skills taught at Hampton offered
black students their best chance of working their way
out of poverty and building productive lives.
Frances Benjamin Johnston self portrait, 1896
E. What does this photograph tell about
African Americans in the 1890s?
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Students at Hampton Institute learn carpentry – F. Johnston
Johnston’s photographs of Hampton Institute Project students portrayed a compelling image,
capturing the student’s earnest and dignified approach to their studies.
Understanding America Through Art
SACSCE HS Subj 6-09
Unit III, page 11
Johnston traveled through the Virginia countryside taking photographs of black families. These
remarkable portraits captured dignity despite overwhelming, pervasive poverty.
A meal between African Americans in the Deep South, 1900
– F. Johnston
Black family with dog – F. Johnston
Another important and similar request came from Booker
T. Washington, the most famous African American of his
time and head of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.
Graduates of the Tuskegee and Hampton Institutes were
photographed to show that education led to success.
Education led to success – F. Johnston
Van Der Zee was a renowned African-American
photographer skilled in portraits, who created
pictures that told of personalities, character and
conviction. In Harlem, he applied his skills to
photographing influential black writers, artists,
poets, composers, actors and musicians who
gathered in Harlem, the cultural capital of black
America in New York.
Personality portrait – J. Van Der Zee
F. Choose one of the photographs on this page and briefly describe the truth you see.
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Understanding America Through Art
SACSCE HS Subj 6-09
Unit III, page 12
The gathering of talented and influential blacks into
the New York area became known as the Harlem
Renaissance, providing blacks unprecedented
independence and freedom. Van Der Zee saw his
opportunity to reveal blacks in a more cultured and
successful lifestyle than was commonly portrayed. His
studio, adorned with expensive chairs, tables, drapes,
floral arrangements and richly illustrated backdrops,
was an elegant setting where he could show his
subjects as distinct and unique personalities.
Recognizing the dramatic and powerful ability
of a single portrait to tell stories, Van Der Zee
would not “snap his shutter” until she was
completely satisfied that the image captured
exactly what he wanted it to say.
Harlem couple on their wedding day with ghostlike image of child on left – J. Van Der Zee
G. What does the photograph at
left show about education in
Harlem?
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Students in Harlem school – J. Van Der Zee
The stereotype-busting images produced by Frances Johnston and James Van Der Zee helped to
provide important cultural information to the new American society. Their photographs gave
African Americans an historical record of progress as they climbed out of slavery, a journey that
saw the first African American elected to the presidency in 2008, more than a century later.
Understanding America Through Art
SACSCE HS Subj 6-09
Unit III, page 13
Edward Sherrif Curtis (1868 – 1952)
As the American westward movement claimed the territory stretching to the Pacific, it claimed
the Native Americans living there as well, driving them into groups that grew smaller and
smaller. The most extensive effort to capture Native American lifestyle in pictures was
accomplished by Edward Curtis, who recorded legends and folklore within his 2,200 images!
Curtis’s deeply sympathetic attitude toward the vanishing tribes was evident in his traditional
photographs.
Curtis’s photographs captured images that portrayed a deep agony, at once empathetic, proud
and forlorn.
Hupa mother and child, 1924 – E. Curtis
Princess Angeline, daughter of Suquamish chief
Sealth (Seattle) – E. Curtis
H. On the Trail of Tears, can you imagine the pain of losing your whole way of life as you were
moved to a reservation? What do these photographs seem to say?
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Understanding America Through Art
SACSCE HS Subj 6-09
Unit III, page 14
“I am tired; my heart is sick and
sad. From where the sun now
stands, I will fight no more
forever.”
- Chief Joseph
Chief Joseph of Nez Perce, 1908. – E. Curtis
Curtis had an ambitious desire to capture in photographs a permanent memorial to a race of
peoples falling victim to the intrusion of the white man’s “Manifest Destiny,” the belief among
many that justified the expansion of (white) civilization resulting in the demise of Native
American people and culture. Some sources estimate the population of indigenous people
between 8.4 million – 112.5 million at the time of Columbus’s voyage in 1492. During the
western expansion of the 1800s, populations plummeted due to:
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diseases
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cavalry
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the developing towns and civilization
Jackson’s project took thirty years to complete, and
includes photographs of more than 80 different
Indian groups - every major Native American tribe
west of the Mississippi. His 20-volume work, The
North American Indian, stands today as the
definitive history of our tragic loss. Without his
photographs, what would we know about the
disappearance of the Native American way of life?
Riders in Canyon de Chelly, AZ, 1910. – E. Curtis
I. How do the photographs of the Native Americans capture the truth of history for you?
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Understanding America Through Art
SACSCE HS Subj 6-09
Unit III, page 15
Dorothea Lange (1865 – 1965)
Dorothea Lange ran a successful portrait studio in
San Francisco, catering to rich clients who helped
her business prosper. After the stock market crash
of 1929, she became increasingly aware of the
predicament of the plight of people who found
themselves suddenly homeless and out of work.
She became bored with photographing the rich,
turning instead to pictures of street people, finding
her true purpose in using her camera to draw
attention to the heartbreaking situations of those
caught up in the Great Depression.
Dorothea Lange with camera, circa 1920
American cities were feeling the full effect of the collapse of the stock market, but in the southern
plains states another type of disaster was taking place. For two full years, a 97-million-acre
section of the country had gone without rain. Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Colorado and New
Mexico literally turned to dust. As the dust was lifted by prairie winds, storms formed blowing
away the topsoil, turning the entire region into a gigantic dust bowl.
Farmers with no soil left to farm, took to the
road and headed west to California and Oregon
in search of work, picking crops for very low
wages. Lange took a position with the Farm
Security Administration, photographing Dust
Bowl victims in twenty-two states.
Oklahoma family reaches California, 1953 -= D. Lange
Understanding America Through Art
SACSCE HS Subj 6-09
Unit III, page 16
To get the type of images Lange desired, she first had to earn the trust of the Dust Bowl victims.
She found migrant workers eager to talk to each other, and found a way to meet them on
common ground. Lange’s photographs from the fields and camps captured the fear and despair
of her subjects, and also their dignity and courage as they endured the conditions forced upon
them.
One Lange’s most famous photos is Migrant Mother (below, right) that was widely published in
newspapers and magazines, drawing public attention to the misfortunes of people through no
fault of theirs. As a result of her photos, local and national government officials erected migrant
camps with running water and toilet facilities, sorely lacking in the places where the migrants
were first forced to live.
Family with five children walking on highway, Oklahoma, 1935 – D. Lange
Migrant Mother, 1936. D. Lange
The photos had other effects as well: government agricultural experts educated southwest
farmers in the science of crop rotation and taught them to plant crops that were beneficial to the
soil. John Steinbeck wrote The Grapes of Wrath, one of the most powerful books ever published
about the human condition, being so moved by Lange’s photos. Photographers all over the world
learned the art of photojournalism, taking pictures to reveal conditions that need correcting.
In Closing
The Truth Tellers, black and white photographers of the mid 1800s, took society into a new
realm, touching on political, social and economic change like no other art or craft had done.
Capturing the poor in dignity or the undignified in leadership brought ideas that would change
minds. Whether showing the stark reality of war’s dead and dying, the agony in the faces of
displaced people, or the splendor of an unfolding western vista, the black and white
photographers of this era told a truthful story of American history, devastating and wonderful.
Understanding America Through Art
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Unit III, page 17
REFERENCES for ADDITIONAL RESEARCH
Unit III, Truth Tellers
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/photos/30292013
http://gigaweb.brigantine.atlnet.org
www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dustbowl/maps/index.html
www.wikipedia.com
Sandler, Martin W. America Through the Lens.
Orvell, Miles. American Photography.
Lemagny, Jean-Claude; Rouillé, André. A History of Photography.
Understanding America Through Art
SACSCE HS Subj 6-09
Unit III, page 18