Walker Evans Photos

Introduction to Photographer Walker Evans

Walker Evans stands as one of the most influential artists in twentieth-century American photography, renowned for his profound impact on modern art and documentary style. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1903, Evans began his academic journey at Williams College before moving to New York, where he initially aspired to be a writer. However, his passion for visual storytelling soon led him to photography, a medium through which he would leave an indelible mark on American art and culture.

Evans’ career truly flourished during the Great Depression, when he joined the Farm Security Administration (FSA) to document the lives of rural Americans. His work with the FSA, often captured in striking gelatin silver print, set a new standard for realism and objectivity in documentary photography. Evans’ images, characterized by their clarity and honesty, provided an unvarnished look at the struggles and dignity of ordinary people during one of the nation’s most challenging eras.

A pivotal moment in Evans’ career was his collaboration with writer James Agee on the groundbreaking book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. This project, which chronicled the lives of Alabama sharecropper families, remains a cornerstone of both literary and photographic modern art. Evans’ photographs, paired with Agee’s evocative prose, offered a deeply human perspective on poverty and resilience in the American South.

Throughout his life, Evans continued to shape the field of photography, teaching at Yale University and influencing generations of artists and photographers. His legacy endures in the powerful images he created—images that continue to be celebrated in major institutions and exhibitions, and that have helped define the American experience through art.

Depression Era Documentary Photography and Walker Evans

The purpose of this essay is to evaluate Walker Evans‘ realistic depiction of the rural poor and migrant farmers during the Depression, and how this body of work redefined the standards of documentary photography. To fully grasp the influence of Evan’s powerful imagery, it is necessary to understand the circumstances under which he was working. With an understanding of the environmental influences, this essay will compare the differences between his photography and other photographers during this period. President Roosevelt established the Resettlement Administration (RA) in 1935 to document and elevate the plight of rural American farmers (renamed Farm Security Administration (FSA) in 1937.)

Roosevelt appointed Rexford Tugwell to implement their ‘New Deal’ that focused on relief, reform, and recovery. Tugwell, however, found it difficult to convince Congress to pass the necessary legislation. Tugwell turned to a former colleague, economist and photographer, Roy Stryker, to help people understand the plight of the rural farmer. During Stryker’s tenure at Columbia University, he utilized photography to help his students gain a deeper understanding of economics. Tugwell wanted Stryker to educate the public, through photography, on what it was like to be a farmer during the Depression. Thus, in 1935, Stryker joined the Roosevelt administration as ‘Head of the History Section’. Stryker’s goal was to document American life and events through the work of the History Section. He wanted to create a body of work that would last for future generations. The federal government, through agencies like the FSA, played a crucial role in supporting these documentary projects. 

“Like Walker Evans, I’m drawn to the unscripted beauty of everyday life—moments that unfold in real time, without polish or pretence. That’s the heart of my street photography.”

His first task was to assemble a team of photographers. Roy Stryker assembled a group of photographers that included Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Russell Lee, John Collier Jr., Edwin Rosskam, Jack Delano, Gordon Parks, John Vachon, Marion Post Wolcott, Arthur Rothstein, and Carl Mydans. The qualities he was looking for were photographers who had studied photography as an art form or as a journalism medium. He believed that they understood the power of photography as a persuasive tool.1 Stryker wanted to capitalize on the cultural popularity of “picture-taking” and photojournalism that was taking place during the 1930s.2 The purpose of any documentary photography or photojournalism is to record the importance of the subject to portray a true sense of the event or theme. You could argue that ‘documentary’ photographs must show all aspects and points of view, not simply the ones chosen by the photographer or editor to further one's objective or conclusion. However, when the FSA sent photographers around the country to compile and document information on the FSA’s relief efforts, they did so with the primary goal of impressing upon Congress and the American people the need for the ‘New Deal’ and its government aid programs. These photos were intended to sway members of Congress and the American people by raising awareness of the devastation to farm communities in the South and Midwest. As such, Stryker maintained strict control over this team and what should or should not be depicted in the photographs. Stryker wanted photographs that were future-oriented and “showed a determination that not even the Depression could kill.” 3 He wanted photographs to show the American people that the New Deal would create a ‘better future’ for the farmers and rural poor. The following photographs by Russell Lee, Jack Delano, and Marion Post Wolcott show examples of the type of work Stryker’s envisioned.

The image Spanish American Workers by Russell Lee exemplifies the “future-orientation” that the FSA wanted. They wanted to prove to the public that their relief programs were working. Lee’s image showing workers building a new home portrays progress and hope for the future.

The photo by Jack Delano shows Connecticut Polish farmers in a joyful mood despite the poverty and depression that had devastated their farms. Delano’s image portrays hope and prosperity for the future as a result of the FSA program, which was precisely what Stryker envisioned.

The Photograph of Miss Wilkins making biscuits for dinner is another example by photographer Marion Post Wolcott that conveys the message of how FSA funding is restoring life to normal. What is more comforting than a photograph of Mom in the kitchen baking for her family? Notice the abundance of food and even the flowers on the shelf. Stryker wanted the images to show the American people that hope existed for the future with the FSA programs. Walker Evans, however, believed that the photos must be a “pure record and not propaganda.” 4 Evans wanted to create images that were more than just those of the FSA. Evans despised the project's political nature and was determined to maintain his independence. By departing from the FSA's political agenda, he was able to create a sense of realism. Although Stryker admired Evans’ photographs, the two men did not get along. The conflict between Evans's desire to create a pure, objective record and the FSA’s political and social agenda led to Stryker letting Evans go in 1937. Even though Evans’ tenure was a mere 18 months, he created some of the most powerful documentary images in America.

“Cities have a rhythm all their own—gritty, layered, and endlessly compelling. My urban photography captures those raw intersections of architecture, chaos, and character.”

During his time with the FSA, Evans worked as an information specialist, officially tasked with documenting rural life and social conditions, though he maintained his independent approach. Evans captured candid moments and everyday life, focusing on the visual details that reflected American culture and vernacular expression. His images were often carefully composed, with a deliberate arrangement of elements to create balanced and evocative scenes. Photographing both rural and urban environments, Evans brought an instinctive and aesthetic engagement to his subjects. Using the imagery created for the FSA project, and in collaboration with James Agree, they published the landmark book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men in 1941. This book was the result of the material gathered during an assignment the men accepted in 1936 for Fortune magazine. Evans worked on various professional projects throughout his career, including his significant collaboration with Agee and his editorial and photographic contributions to Fortune, where he also designed page layouts for the magazine.

They were tasked with producing an article that documented the lives of sharecropper families in the cotton belt. With this assignment, Agee and Evans set out for the South with the best of intentions. They would be respectful to the farmers, but they did not intend to incorporate their assignment into Stryker’s propaganda agenda. At first, the southern tenant farmers met the two New York journalists with suspicion. But after a month-long search, they were successful in persuading Burroughs, the Tengle, and the Fields families from Alabama to take part in their assignment (they were given pseudonyms in the book to conceal their identity). Both Evans and Agree lived with the families for several weeks and recorded their experiences of ‘their world’, doing so with respect and dignity. For this privilege they pair the families room and board.5 The focus of their project was on three sharecropping families, whose daily struggles and resilience became the central narrative of the book. The following images from Evan’s "Let Us Now Praise Famous Men" photo essay, juxtaposed against the images by Lee, Delano, and Wolcott, illustrate where Evan’s work departed from other photographers who complied with Stryker’s objectives.

The photo of the Fields family portrays the reality as he saw it. There is poverty, struggle and hardship. Evan used an 8×10 view camera and had the family pose for the photograph. Even though he composed the image, he did not attempt to hide that the reality was not rosy. They could not look forward to the future; the present struggles did not afford them that luxury. The most daunting aspect of this photo is the stare of the elder child – there is no innocence one would expect from someone so young, just the harsh reality of their life as it is in the present.

Evans made four pictures of Allie Mae Burroughs. One of the most popular images from the book is the one depicting brooding anger and resentment, conveyed by a slight tilt of the head, the furrows around the eyes, and the pursed mouth at a certain angle.6 There is no contrived smile conjured up for the photograph. She is frail, yet her eyes portray the cold reality that life is not easy, and she must be strong. She folds her lips as if she is holding back the real story of her life. Jeff Allred describes the image as a rendering of the human figure; the rooted and emplaced entity is reinforced in the photograph by the visual rhyme linking the severe horizontality of the wrinkles and the hair to the grain of the clapboards of her home. Evans’s camera captures a reaction in which an instant of ordinary life is translated faithfully.7

The portrait of Lucille Burroughs reminds us that the realities of the Depression are not limited to adults. Despite attempts to dress as a young girl, the facial expression tells a story more sober than a young child should face.

The photograph of the child’s’ grave illustrates how Evan’s observes a subject and records it. He photographed it just as one would if they walked up to the grave. The site is undisturbed, and no markings are visible to identify the deceased child. There are no clues as to what happened to the child. One can only imagine the harsh environment and dangers endured by cotton farmers during the Depression. Evan’s imagery was successful because he photographed how he ‘saw’ the world in the present. His photographs have a realistic and objective quality. He felt as if the images should tell a story in themselves. Hence, placing his entire image collection at the beginning of the Let Us Now Praise Famous Men book before the title page, without any text commentary, plate numbers, or any other way to match them with the subjects and scenes described by Agee – a departure from the standard practice of photojournalism where photos are used to support the written article.8 The images were meant to stand alone and tell a story. Although Evans and James Agee published Let Us Now Praise Famous Men in 1941, the book initially sold only a few hundred copies. Only when the book was republished in the early 1960s did it receive critical acclaim, and it has since been hailed as America’s premier work of documentary reportage.

“There’s something powerful about looking someone in the eye mid-stride, mid-thought, mid-life. My street portrait photography captures those fleeting encounters that say more than words ever could.”

The second edition of the book included additional photographs, further highlighting the depth of Evans and Agee's collaboration.9 Walker Evans set out with an attitude of “no politics whatever”, and did not compromise either during his 18 months with the FSA, or his subsequent projects. From the outset, Evans was going ahead with a “something else” agenda. He would attempt to appease his employers, but at the same time, he took advantage of the opportunity to perfect his photographic technique. 10 It’s this uncompromising attitude which resulted in Walker Evans being called by some a pioneer in documentary photography. Jeff Allred sums up Evan’s work as being anything but antisublime in its focus, showing a humanity conditioned by particular social and historical pressures.11

Own Words: Walker Evans on Photography

Walker Evans’ philosophy on photography is best captured in his own words: “The eye traffics in feelings, not in facts.” This succinct statement reveals his belief that photography, while rooted in reality, is ultimately an art form that conveys emotion and insight beyond mere documentation. Evans approached his craft with a commitment to authenticity, striving to present the American scene as it truly was, without embellishment or manipulation.

During his tenure as a staff photographer for Fortune magazine and his work with the Farm Security Administration under Roy Stryker, Evans travelled extensively through West Virginia, Alabama, and Georgia. He photographed rural churches, tenant farmers, and the stark realities of the Great Depression, always with a careful, documentary style that emphasized the dignity and humanity of his subjects. His images, such as those featured in the Museum of Modern Art’s American Photographs, are celebrated for their meticulous composition and emotional depth.

Evans was also an innovator, embracing new technologies like the Polaroid camera and instant prints later in his career. Yet, regardless of the tools he used, his focus remained on capturing the complexity and beauty of everyday American life. His photographs of rural churches, street scenes, and portraits of tenant farmers continue to resonate, offering a timeless window into the nation’s past.

Through his own words and enduring body of work, Walker Evans has inspired countless photographers and artists. His legacy is preserved not only in museums like the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum, but also in the ongoing relevance of his vision—a vision that sees photography as both art and document, capable of revealing the profound truths of the American experience.

The book is the central theme of this essay, in which photos were described and evaluated.

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• 1 Hurley, Jack F., Portrait of a Decade: Roy Stryker and the Development of Documentary Photography in the Thirties (Barton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1972)
• The book is a historical account of Roy Stryker and the FSA that described Stryker’s criteria for selecting photographers for the FSA project. Jack Hurley has written 7 books on photography and photographers of the period.
• Berger, Maurice, How Art Becomes History: Essays on Art, Society, and Culture in Post-New Deal America(New York: Harper Colins, 1992).
• The book explores the topic of influences of art on society and the role of photography during the early 20^th Maurice Berger is a historian, art critic and curator.  He is a senior research scholar at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.  Within this essay the description of the cultural role of photography during Walker and Stryker’s time with the FSA.
• 3,4 Evans, Walker, Thopson, Jerry L., Walker Evans at Work – with an essay by Jerry Thompson(Icon (Harpe), 1994)
• The book was compiled and edited by John T. Hill who was the executor of Evan’s estate. The book takes its readers though Walker’s life and examines his working methods.
• 5,6,8      Hambourg, Marie; Rosenheim, Jeff; Eklund, Duglas; Fineman, Mia, Walker Evans (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York in association with Princeton University Press, 2000)
• The book is an examination of Walker Evans Photography over his career. The section cited within this essay was the “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men”, which went into a historical account of the events that took place that led to the publication of the book.
• 7,9 James Curtis, Making Sense of Documentary Photography (Published online June 2003)
• This online document in PDF format (http://historymatters.gmu.edu/mse/photos/) provides a history of documentary photography. James Curtis is a Professor of History at the University of Delaware and Director of the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture.
• 10 Hill, John; Mora, Gilles Walker Evans The Hungry Eye(Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, 1993)
• The publication is a chronological exploration of Walker Evan’s career spanning from 1927 – 1975. The portions used within this essay are the chapters and photo plates relating to the FSA period and “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men”.  John Hill, a friend and colleague of Walker Evans and the executor of his estate.  He is a former Director of Graduate Studies in Photography at the Yale University School of Art.  Gilles Mora has been editor-in-chief of Cahiers de la Photographie since 1981.
• 11 Jeff Allred, American Modernism and Depression Documentary (Oxford University Press, 2009)
• The book is an investigation of the ‘aesthetics of interruption’ of 1930s-era documentary books. Jeff Allred is Assistant Professor of English, Hunter College
• 12 Evan, Walker; Agee, James Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (First Mariner Book Edition 2001)