The paintings, murals, and graphics of Ben Shahn (1898-1969) have made him one of the most heralded American artists of the twentieth century, but during the 1930s he was also among the nation's premier photographers. Much of his photographic work was sponsored by the New Deal's Farm Security Administration, where his colleagues included Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans. Ben Shahn's American Scene: Photographs, 1938 presents one hundred superb photographs from his most ambitious FSA project, a survey of small-town life in the Depression. John Raeburn's accompanying text illuminates the thematic and formal significance of individual photographs and reveals how, taken together, they address key cultural and political issues of the years leading up to World War II. Shahn's photographs highlight conflicts between traditional values and the newer ones introduced by modernity as represented by the movies, chain stores, and the tantalizing allure of consumer goods, and they are particularly rich in observation about the changes brought about by Americans' universal reliance on the automobile. They also explore the small town's standing as the nation's symbol of democratic community and expose the discriminatory social and racial practices that subverted this ideal in 1930s America.

Featuring a multi-faceted collection of images and words, this book is a lavishly produced companion to a major traveling exhibition documenting America just before the 21st century. 162 photos, 80 in color.

"A long-overdue consideration of the life and work of Joe Jones (1909-1963), an American scene painter and social realist from St. Louis"--From publisher description.

An engaging and delightfully illustrated account of the impact of railroads on the American built environment and on American culture from the last decades of the nineteenth century to the 1930's.

This beautiful and informative photographic history includes images from 1900 to 1999. Many are often seen (bullet piercing the apple, splashing crown of milk, Sophia Loren looking askance at Jayne Mansfield's plunging decollete, and Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother); but most are probably unknown, because the photos were selected not only for their visual and cognitive qualities but also for their importance to the history and development of photographic technique and usage. The century is divided into thirds for explanation's sake, and there is at least one photograph for every year. While this is a picture book, the accompanying text provides informative introductions to the uses and abuses of perhaps the century's most important medium. The book is companion to the PBS series. Oversize: 12.5x9.5". Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR