Depression Era Photography

Roy Stryker was the head of the Information Division of the Farm Security Administration and managed its photo documentary project. He found photographers to capture the American lives and distribute them across the country. The support of the New Deal consisted of setting up camps for those in the Dust Bowl, creating homestead communities, and providing educational services. These systems needed the support of the American taxpayer and the Farm Security Administration used photos to create a favorable depiction of rural people to increase support. Stryker aimed to change the way people thought government supported the impoverished Americans to show that it did not contradict ideals of individualism and self-reliance. Photography could show how poor the conditions were to convince the public that government help was necessary. The images that were collected were largely distributed in magazines and newspapers who were eager to print images that they didn’t have to pay for and commission themselves. These photographs were displayed at the 1936 World’s Fair, the Museum of Modern Art, and the 1936 National Convention. Stryker did not distribute the images that did not support the story he was attempting to create. He mainly chose poor living and working conditions and how New Deal policies improved the lives in rural communities. Stryker was known for punching a hole in pictures he disliked making them unusable. He ensured that his photo collection would be preserved in the Library of Congress. The legacy of the New Deal lives in Stryker’s collection of photos.