New Orleans
c. 1936
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
sheet (trimmed to image): 17.4 x 22.4 cm (6 7/8 x 8 13/16 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Robert B. Menschel Fund
Accession Number
2000.157.1
Art Historical Context
**New Orleans, c. 1936** Peter Sekaer (1901–1957), a Danish-born photographer who captured the raw essence of American life in the 1930s, created this evocative *New Orleans* gelatin silver print during the Great Depression. Shot around 1936, the image reflects the era's social documentary impulse, when photographers ventured into urban underbelly to document everyday struggles and resilience. Sekaer's work aligns with the straight photography movement, emphasizing unadorned reality without manipulation. The medium—gelatin silver print—was the gold standard for black-and-white photography a...