A black-and-white photograph of an elderly man in ragged clothing sitting on a wood stoop as a dog sits in a wood rocker next to him.

William A. Swift, Once a Farmer, Now a Resident of Circleville's "Hooverville," Summer 1938

Ben Shahn (1898-1969)

Date

1938
Object Type

Photographs
Medium

Gelatin silver print
Dimensions

6 1/16 x 9 3/8 in.
Inscriptions

Verso:
u.l. in graphite: 21
u.r. in graphite: William A. Swift once a \ farmer, now a resident of \ Circlevilles [sic] Hooverville. When he \ returned from war went west \ "made awful good money job- \ bin' around." Depression brought \ him home. Since then he has \ been on C.W.A. P.W.A. W.P.A.--"on \ all of 'em" for the last 4 or 5 \ years. apologetic for toothlessness
c.l. [stamp]: BEN SHAHN \ PHOTOGRAPHER \ FARM SECURITY ADMINISTRATION \ formerly from the collection of The Fogg Museum
c. in graphite: 6408 M5
l.r. in graphite: explained that last year doctor \ advised pulling all his (Perfectly \ good) teeth because of headaches. \ Headaches remain. "If I knew \ then what I know now, I'd not \ have had those teeth taken out for \ one thousand dollars."
Credit Line

Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas
Accession Number

P1980.30.5
Copyright

Public domain

Location: Off view

See more by Ben Shahn

This information is published from the Carter's collection database. Updates and additions based on research and imaging activities are ongoing. The images, titles, and inscriptions are products of their time and are presented here as documentation, not as a reflection of the Carter’s values. If you have corrections or additional information about this object please email us to help us improve our records.

Every effort has been made to accurately determine the rights status of works and their images. Please email us if you have further information on the rights status of a work contrary or in addition to the information in our records.