The Library of Congress
Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress
Please go to the current FSA/OWI Black-and-White Photographs in the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog. Updates to this American Memory Web presentation ended in 2012.
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FSA-OWI Color Photos Home Page
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The black-and-white photographs of the Farm Security
Administration-Office of War Information Collection are a landmark in the history of documentary photography. The images show
Americans at home, at work, and at play, with an emphasis on rural and
small-town life and the adverse effects of the Great Depression, the Dust
Bowl, and increasing farm mechanization. Some of the most famous images
portray people who were displaced from farms and migrated West or to
industrial cities in search of work. In its latter years, the project
documented America's mobilization for World War II. The collection
includes about 164,000 black-and-white negatives; this release provides
access to over 160,000 of these images. The FSA-OWI photographers also
produced about 1600 color photographs. Two illustrated lists of frequently requested images from the
FSA-OWI Collection, "'Migrant
Mother' Photographs" and "Photographs of Signs
Enforcing Racial Discrimination", are
also available from the Prints and Photographs Reading Room.
The mission of the Library of Congress is to make its
resources available and useful to Congress and the American people and to sustain
and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future
generations. The goal of the Library's National Digital Library Program is to
offer broad public access to a wide range of historical and cultural documents as
a contribution to education and lifelong learning.
The Library of Congress presents these documents as part of the record of
the past. These primary historical documents reflect the
attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs of different times. The Library of Congress
does not endorse the views expressed in these collections, which
may contain materials offensive to some readers.
Special Presentations
Documenting America: Photographers on Assignment
Selected FSA Images: Popular Requests and Staff Selections
Portrait Sampler of FSA Photographers
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