Walker Evans

Walker Evans was an American photographer and pioneer of the documentary tradition, famous for his searingly direct images of the Great Depression. Despite an early interest in writing, he turned to photography whilst in New York and began to experiment with various formalist techniques drawn from European Modernism. However, he increasingly developed his own highly individual realist style designed to capture the poetry of everyday life. As part of Roosevelt’s New Deal, Evans was commissioned by the Farm Security Administration to document both the effects of the Great Depression across the country and the positive impact of federal government initiatives. Evans chose instead to portray honestly the rural poverty that he encountered, free from romanticization or political agenda. These were evocative and intimate images of beleaguered famers, country churches, simple private bedrooms and run-down roadside cafés. Together they form an iconic catalogue that has come to define how modern America saw itself in the 20th century.