Penny Picture Display, Savannah
1936
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
24.7 x 19.3 cm (9 3/4 x 7 5/8 in.)
Classification
Photographs
Department
Photographs
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Ford Motor Company Collection, Gift of Ford Motor Company and John C. Waddell, 1987
Accession Number
1987.1100.482
Tags
Art Historical Context
In 1936, during the heart of the Great Depression, Evans captured *Penny Picture Display, Savannah in this gelatin silver print, showcasing a humble storefront window in Georgia filled with affordable portrait photographs. These "penny pictures"—inexpensive snapshots for everyday folks—line up like a gallery of anonymous faces, reflecting the era's yearning for self-representation amid economic hardship., a master of documentary photography, immortalized such vernacular scenes with unflinching clarity, turning ordinary advertisements into poignant portraits of American resilience. As part of ...
About the Artist
Walker Evans · 1903–1975
Walker Evans (1903–1975) was born on November 3, 1903, in St. Louis, Missouri, to an affluent family; his father, Walker Evans Sr., worked as an advertising director. Raised across Toledo, Chicago, and New York City, he attended elite preparatory schools including Phillips Academy in Andover before briefly studying French literature at Williams College, from which he dropped out after one year. A ...