Orphans of the Road
1990, printed 1994
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
sheet: 27.6 × 35.4 cm (10 7/8 × 13 15/16 in.) image: 21.4 × 32.6 cm (8 7/16 × 12 13/16 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Department
CPH
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Corcoran Collection (Gift of Betsy Karel)
Accession Number
2015.19.4829
Art Historical Context
"Orphans of the Road" is a poignant gelatin silver print by acclaimed documentary photographer Jim Goldberg, created in 1990 and printed 1994. Measuring approximately 27.6 × 35.4 cm, this black-and-white photograph captures the humanity of its subjects, evoking themes of displacement and resilience suggested by its evocative title. Goldberg, renowned for his immersive, long-term projects on marginalized communities, uses the gelatin silver process—a classic darkroom technique prized for its rich tonal gradations and archival stability—to convey emotional depth and stark realism. In the contex...
About the Artist
Jim Goldberg
Jim Goldberg, born in 1953 in New Haven, Connecticut, emerged as a pivotal figure in American documentary photography through his immersive, collaborative approach to capturing marginalized lives. He earned a BA in photography from Western Washington University in 1975 before studying at the San Francisco Art Institute under Larry Sultan, a conceptually oriented photographer whose influence shaped...