Photography

The millions of photographs in the Museum's collections compose a vast mosaic of the nation's history. Photographs accompany most artifact collections. Thousands of images document engineering projects, for example, and more record the steel, petroleum, and railroad industries.

Some 150,000 images capture the history, art, and science of photography. Nineteenth-century photography, from its initial development by W. H. F. Talbot and Louis Daguerre, is especially well represented and includes cased images, paper photographs, and apparatus. Glass stereographs and news-service negatives by the Underwood & Underwood firm document life in America between the 1890s and the 1930s. The history of amateur photography and photojournalism are preserved here, along with the work of 20th-century masters such as Richard Avedon and Edward Weston. Thousands of cameras and other equipment represent the technical and business side of the field.

Soon after the end of World War II, President Harry S.
Description
Soon after the end of World War II, President Harry S. Truman issued a directive to Army and Navy officials that joint testing of nuclear weapons would be necessary "to determine the effect of atomic bombs on American warships."
Bikini Island was chosen to be the new nuclear proving ground for the U.S. government because of its location away from regular air and sea routes. In order for testing to get underway, the natives were removed from the island. Mydans was sent to the island to document the exodus of the people of Bikini. The story was published by LIFE (Mar 25, 1946).
Bikini's population numbered only 160 people from 11 families before it was evacuated. It was governed by a paramount chief (whom U.S. sailors began calling "king") and alaps or family heads. In this picture, Chief Juda sits with his family. Clothes were optional for children but adults were taught by missionaries to wear them despite the hot weather.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1946
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.096
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.096
In 1959 Mydans photographed Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev on his visit to the United States. During his stay, Khrushchev visited the Twentieth Century Fox studios during the filming of the movie Can-Can. Khrushchev came on the set with his wife, bodyguards, politicians, U.S.
Description
In 1959 Mydans photographed Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev on his visit to the United States. During his stay, Khrushchev visited the Twentieth Century Fox studios during the filming of the movie Can-Can. Khrushchev came on the set with his wife, bodyguards, politicians, U.S. officials, and studio heads who ordered the dancers to perform an entire can-can number for the elite guests.
The film, starring Shirley MacLaine, received worldwide publicity because of Khrushchev's visit. The next day's newspapers carried an interesting quote from him. When asked what he thought of Can-Can, he replied, "The face of humanity is prettier than its backside."
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1959
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.154
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.154
In 1968, Carl Mydans, then in his sixties, continued traveling the globe and documenting history as it developed.
Description
In 1968, Carl Mydans, then in his sixties, continued traveling the globe and documenting history as it developed. That year, it meant going to Vietnam and covering yet another war.
Sometimes people have asked me why I devoted so much of my life to covering these terrible scenes, these disasters, these wars. And there is an important reason. When I began as a photojournalist I was interested in the history that was developing around me and war is one of those stories.
I want to make it clear it is not because I liked war. They were awful periods. I have often been in places where it was so terrible, where I was so frightened, where I could criticize myself for being there by saying what are you doing, why are you here? The answer has always been that what I am doing is important, and that's why I am here. I am making a record of historic times.
Carl Mydans
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1968
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.163
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.163
After the conclusion of World War II, President Harry S.
Description
After the conclusion of World War II, President Harry S. Truman issued a directive to Army and Navy officials stating that joint testing of nuclear weapons would be necessary "to determine the effect of atomic bombs on American warships."
Bikini was chosen to be the new nuclear testing ground for the U.S. government because of its location away from regular air and sea routes. In order for the project to get underway, the natives needed to be relocated to a different island. Mydans was sent to the island to document the exodus of the people of Bikini to the nearby island of Rongerik in March of 1946. The story was published by LIFE (Mar 25, 1946).
Outrigger canoes, like the one pictured here, were the Island people's main mode of transportation. The calm waters eventually became the stage for atom bombs testing on target ships. Before the evacuation, U.S. sailors helped the natives paint canoes.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1946
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.098
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.098
After their capture in Manila by Japanese forces in January 1942 and 16 months in internment camps, Carl and Shelly Mydans finally touched American soil in late 1943.
Description
After their capture in Manila by Japanese forces in January 1942 and 16 months in internment camps, Carl and Shelly Mydans finally touched American soil in late 1943. Mydans' first assignment for LIFE magazine after his repatriation was a story on Japanese internment camps on the U.S. West Coast.
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, U.S. citizens of Japanese ancestry living in the United States were removed from their homes and relocated to isolated inland areas in California and other western states. This man was one of 155 "pressure boys," men loyal to Japan who had been involved in various riots in November the previous year. Mydans reported that the boy was singing Home on the Range as he entered the barracks. "He sang it like an American. There was no Japanese accent. He looked at me the same way I guess I looked at a Japanese official when he came to check on me at Camp Santo Tomás in Manila. At the back of my mind was the thought, 'Come on, get it over and get out. Leave me alone.' This boy felt the same way. He was just waiting, killing time" (LIFE, March 20, 1944, p.31).
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1944
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.065
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.065
When World War II broke out in 1939, LIFE magazine sent Carl Mydans and his wife Shelley overseas to document the unfolding events as a photographer/reporter team. The two began by covering the siege in London.
Description
When World War II broke out in 1939, LIFE magazine sent Carl Mydans and his wife Shelley overseas to document the unfolding events as a photographer/reporter team. The two began by covering the siege in London. They then moved on to Finland where Mydans was first exposed to combat. After a short stay in Italy, they traveled to France where they witnessed its fall to Nazi Germany.
Mydans' words describe the scene: "Each war begins where the last one left off." French soldiers in May 1940 could be mistaken for the poilus or infantrymen of 1914 as they straggle past a shelled village near Verdun after the German breakthrough at Sedan.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1940-05
1940
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.059
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.059
During 1937 and 1938, Mydans led a nomadic life-- a situation shared with most of his subjects-- living in hotel rooms as his assignments took him to Georgia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York , Vermont, California, Texas, and elsewhere.In one of his New York stops, he took t
Description
During 1937 and 1938, Mydans led a nomadic life-- a situation shared with most of his subjects-- living in hotel rooms as his assignments took him to Georgia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York , Vermont, California, Texas, and elsewhere.
In one of his New York stops, he took this picture of a "chain gang." Like a chain gang of prisoners, the four officers coming out of the Stock Exchange are handcuffed to their briefcases. Each day their task is to safeguard the contents of the briefcases while transporting them to the bank for deposit.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
Spring 1937
1937
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.039
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.039
After the end of World War II, President Harry S. Truman issued a directive to army and navy officials for the joint testing of nuclear weapons "to determine the effect of atomic bombs on American warships." Bikini Atoll was chosen as the new nuclear proving ground for the U.S.
Description
After the end of World War II, President Harry S. Truman issued a directive to army and navy officials for the joint testing of nuclear weapons "to determine the effect of atomic bombs on American warships." Bikini Atoll was chosen as the new nuclear proving ground for the U.S. government because of its location away from regular air and sea routes. The natives needed to be relocated in order for operation Crossroads to get underway. Mydans was sent to the area to document the exodus of the people of Bikini. The story was published by LIFE (Mar 25 1946).
The graveyard on Bikini Island, just outside a village on the southside of the island, held about thirty graves. Walking together between the tombstones, the children smile, probably not realizing that they would soon leave their island and its history behind.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1946
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.115
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.115
Carl Mydans' relationship with TIME Inc. began by capturing pictures similar to this one. During his lunch hour, he had photographed a man by the name of Eugene Daniell who was talking to a small crowd as he stood on a soapbox on Wall Street.
Description
Carl Mydans' relationship with TIME Inc. began by capturing pictures similar to this one. During his lunch hour, he had photographed a man by the name of Eugene Daniell who was talking to a small crowd as he stood on a soapbox on Wall Street. In this photograph, a woman appeals to the crowd during a noontime rally. A few years prior to this image, office workers had won legal protection for their right to assemble. Despite the crippling effects of the Great Depression on the common working man, the thirties saw dramatic growth in the labor movement.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1936
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.020
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.020
At the end of 1936, Mydans left the Resettlement Administration and began working for LIFE magazine. One of his early assignments took him to the steel mill at Weirton, West Virginia.
Description
At the end of 1936, Mydans left the Resettlement Administration and began working for LIFE magazine. One of his early assignments took him to the steel mill at Weirton, West Virginia. Influenced by his time in the R.A., he concentrated on the workers' living conditions and their work practices.
During the early 1900s, Ernest Tener Weir built modern steel mills in the upper Ohio River valley between Ohio and West Virginia. A town was built above the valley. It depended solely on Ernest Tener Weir for electricity, water, gas, sewage, and paving. The town had no municipal government of its own and no police force or fire department, except the company's. In LIFE (Sept. 13, 1937) the caption that accompanies this photograph reads: Like most Weirton streets, Avenue B is not paved and its worker homes are little brightened by sooty shrubs and vines.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1937
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.022
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.022
When Carl Mydans first started working for LIFE magazine, he was asked to go to Texas and document everything from the state's last great cattle drive to its tough oil towns.
Description
When Carl Mydans first started working for LIFE magazine, he was asked to go to Texas and document everything from the state's last great cattle drive to its tough oil towns. Some of his images of the oil boom town of Freer were later published in the magazine (Jan 17, 1938).
The town of Freer received its name in 1925, when the government granted permission for a post office to be built there. The first settlers had arrived a decade earlier, after a Houston real-estate promoter named C. W. Hahl advertised his land for sale in newspapers throughout the Southwest. At first, only six families established themselves there. But by the mid-thirties, the population of Freer had reached about five to eight thousand inhabitants.
The first oil boom occurred in 1928, but the Great Depression and the discovery of oil in East Texas in 1930 put an end to it. During the spring of 1932, a second, even bigger, boom occured. By 1933 Freer had become the second-largest oilfield in the United States and had attracted a flood of settlers from Oklahoma, Kansas, and other midwestern states. Despite a monthly payroll estimated at $500,000, Freer's main streets were not paved until 1938. It was common for the town to be covered in dust during months of drought, when it rained it was impossible for trucks carrying bread and milk from Alice and San Diego to travel through the mud and reach the town. During this period, the town also lacked potable water, a sewage system, and a bank.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1937
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.030
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.030
During the years following his Korean War coverage, Mydans found himself on various assignments in Britain, Switzerland, France, Germany, and other international sites.
Description
During the years following his Korean War coverage, Mydans found himself on various assignments in Britain, Switzerland, France, Germany, and other international sites. In 1956 he was asked to cover the domestic presidential campaign in which Eisenhower and Nixon were seeking re-election.
After becoming vice president in 1952, Nixon toured the country in support of fellow Republicans seeking seats in Congress. His oratory skills helped him become the virtual spokesman for the Eisenhower-Nixon team. For the 1956 campaign, President Eisenhower persuaded Nixon to tone down his attacks on the Democrats and their policies. However, having noticed that the "new" Nixon was not as engaging as his former self, Eisenhower gave him room to be more confrontational.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1956
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.146
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.146
Early in 1937, Mydans traveled to Texas to compile his first photo essay for LIFE magazine, covering everything from the state's last great cattle drive to its tough oil towns. This image, however, would not be published until 1939.
Description
Early in 1937, Mydans traveled to Texas to compile his first photo essay for LIFE magazine, covering everything from the state's last great cattle drive to its tough oil towns. This image, however, would not be published until 1939. According to the magazine caption, this short-horned steer is being cut from the herd by two young cow ponies in an effort to develop their hooves and expert footing (Feb. 13, 1939).
Mydans later recalled his frightened reaction after developing the picture; he said a photographer often concentrates so intently on what he is seeing that he is not aware of danger.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1937
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.025
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.025
After WWII, President Truman issued a directive to Armed Forces officials on the need to test their nuclear weapons and determine the effect of an atomic blast on American warships. Bikini Atoll was chosen to be the new nuclear proving ground for the U.S.
Description
After WWII, President Truman issued a directive to Armed Forces officials on the need to test their nuclear weapons and determine the effect of an atomic blast on American warships. Bikini Atoll was chosen to be the new nuclear proving ground for the U.S. government because of its location away from regular air and sea routes. Mydans was sent to the area to cover the story, which was published by LIFE (Mar 25, 1946).
On a Sunday morning in 1946, Commodore Ben Wyatt met with the people of Bikini after church services had been held to explain the need for atomic testing on their island and the need for their consequent relocation. Bikini Atoll natives were strong Congregationalists, the legacy of conversion by New England missionaries. Although the missionaries had been gone for years, the natives held services with their own preacher. In this image, they can be seen engrossed in a religious service. Chief Juda spoke after reaching the decision to go to their new home on Rongerik: "We will go believing that everything is in the hands of God." On March 7, 1946, the natives left their island with hopes of someday returning home.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1946
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.089
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.089
When North Korea decided to invade South Korea, Carl Mydans was coming to the end of his assignment as TIME-LIFE bureau chief in Tokyo.
Description
When North Korea decided to invade South Korea, Carl Mydans was coming to the end of his assignment as TIME-LIFE bureau chief in Tokyo. Although he was prepared to make the switch from Asia to the United States, he quickly put those plans on hold and flew back in order to cover the war.
One month after the beginning of the war, U.S. Marines of the 1st Marine Division, mostly combat veterans, landed at Pusan, Korea, on August 2, 1950. Despite the less than ideal situation, the men found time to rest between fighting. After the battles ended, shattered Korean villages were left behind.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1950
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.132
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.132
As part of his job with the Farm Security Administration, Mydans traveled to Missouri and captured the lodgings of a sharecropping family. Mydans' F.S.A.
Description
As part of his job with the Farm Security Administration, Mydans traveled to Missouri and captured the lodgings of a sharecropping family. Mydans' F.S.A. caption indicates that this is a photograph of a kitchen in a cabin purchased for the Lake of the Ozarks project.
Lake of the Ozarks is one of the world's largest manmade lakes. The main objective during the project was the construction of the Bagnell Dam in order to maintain a hydroelectric power plant. Hundreds of support buildings --serving as housing, a hospital, a jail, and a commissary-- also needed to be constructed to accommodate the thousands of workmen for the project's completion. The cabin pictured here may have served as lodging for one of these workers and his family.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1936-05
1936
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.007
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.007
While traveling through Texas capturing images for his photo essay, Mydans focused not only on the free and prosperous cowboys on the range, but also on the displaced population that was still struggling to find a job amidst a national economic crisis.
Description
While traveling through Texas capturing images for his photo essay, Mydans focused not only on the free and prosperous cowboys on the range, but also on the displaced population that was still struggling to find a job amidst a national economic crisis. In the 1930s, a combination of droughts, the Depression, and the increased mechanization of farming prompted a migration of small farmers and laborers from Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas to the western United States.
This girl's family probably traveled on its own, following the crops from one place to another, in order to make a living.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1937
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.036
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.036
Before taking up residency in Moscow in 1959, Mydans was photographing another political campaign. Democrat John F. Kennedy served three terms in the House of Representatives, and in 1952 was elected to the U.S. Senate.
Description
Before taking up residency in Moscow in 1959, Mydans was photographing another political campaign. Democrat John F. Kennedy served three terms in the House of Representatives, and in 1952 was elected to the U.S. Senate. Soon after being elected senator, Kennedy, age 36, married 24-year-old Jacqueline Bouvier, a reporter with the Washington Times-Herald. Later, in 1956, he was almost selected to run for Vice President. Kennedy, however, decided that he would run for President in the next election. He began working very long hours and traveling around the United States on weekends. On July 13, 1960, the Democratic Party nominated him as its candidate for President.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1958
maker
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.149
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.149
Mydans' main projects for the Resettlement Administration dealt with photographing urban and residential development and the impoverished dwellings they were replacing.
Description
Mydans' main projects for the Resettlement Administration dealt with photographing urban and residential development and the impoverished dwellings they were replacing. In Chicago, he chose to focus on the human subject, the people whose lives were affected by the Great Depression. Chicago, which had seen an increase in industrial productivity during the 1920s, was hit hard by its consequences during the 1930s. Mydans' caption for this photograph reads: In the depths of the Great Depression, one quarter of the entire American workforce was unemployed. In Chicago, the number was nearly half. Here one of their number sits bowed under the Spring sun on Michigan Avenue, 1936...
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1936
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.006
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.006
When Carl Mydans first started working for LIFE magazine, he was asked to go to Texas and document everything from its last great cattle drive to its tough oil towns. Part of Mydans' Texas photo essay was featured in LIFE (Jan 17, 1938).
Description
When Carl Mydans first started working for LIFE magazine, he was asked to go to Texas and document everything from its last great cattle drive to its tough oil towns. Part of Mydans' Texas photo essay was featured in LIFE (Jan 17, 1938). The caption there reads: A big felt hat, a cigar, a gold watch chain and cowboy boots identify Carl Pugh as Freer's chief of police.
Freer's notoriety came from its being an oil boom town. Early in the 1900s, a small number of families purchased the land and watched it blossom into a community. However, when oil was struck, a flood of settlers overcrowded the area. Although the second oil boom (1932) brought a new age of prosperity to the town, it also attracted a colorful crowd of outcasts. Prior to Mydans' visit, the town constable would chain those who broke the law to telephone poles or to horse hitching posts overnight because Freer did not have a jail. By the time Mydans set foot in it, the town had a small police station along with a chief of police.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1937-03
1937
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.029
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.029
Once Mydans was pulled from the European theater in late 1944, he reunited with Gen. Douglas MacArthur in the Pacific. After the landing at Luzon, MacArthur's troops made their way into Bataan. Almost three years after Gen.
Description
Once Mydans was pulled from the European theater in late 1944, he reunited with Gen. Douglas MacArthur in the Pacific. After the landing at Luzon, MacArthur's troops made their way into Bataan. Almost three years after Gen. Edward King surrendered Bataan to the Japanese, American troops and Filipino guerrillas recaptured the peninsula. According to LIFE, after many days of battle, General MacArthur surveyed the Japanese dead and issued a communique: So far as can be found, no living Japanese soldier is now on the peninsula (LIFE, Mar 5, 1945).
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1945-03
1945
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.073
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.073
Months after the conclusion of the Second World War, President Harry S.
Description
Months after the conclusion of the Second World War, President Harry S. Truman issued a directive to Army and Navy officials that joint testing of nuclear weapons would be necessary "to determine the effect of atomic bombs on American warships." Because of its location away from regular air and sea routes, Bikini was chosen to be the new nuclear proving ground for the U.S. government.
No one really knew what would happen to Bikini after the atomic testing was completed. The one thing that officials did know was that little would remain on the island. A bomb similar to that used against Nagasaki would explode several hundred feet over a "ghost fleet" of 97 ships anchored in a small lagoon of Bikini Island. Mydans was sent to the island to document the exodus of the people of Bikini. The story was published by LIFE (Mar 25, 1946).
Over the next eleven years, American soldiers participated in 23 tests at Bikini, during which hundreds of bombs were detonated. On March 1, 1954, the military released its largest bomb to date, a hydrogen bomb called Bravo. This blast was seen as one of the worst incidents of fallout exposures in all the U.S. testing programs.
The image shows an explosion in shallow water while native onlookers sit on boats still on shore.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1946
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.093
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.093
Carl Mydans was coming to the end of his assignment as TIME-LIFE bureau chief in Tokyo when North Korea decided to invade South Korea.
Description
Carl Mydans was coming to the end of his assignment as TIME-LIFE bureau chief in Tokyo when North Korea decided to invade South Korea. During the first few weeks of the Korean War, the fighting was referred to as nothing more than a "police action." Once casualties began to increase, the conflict became a war.
Undermanned American forces were sent to quell the situation and the consequences can be seen in images such as this. On assignment for LIFE, Mydans followed a fresh battalion of the U.S. 1st Cavalry Division in its mission to strengthen the American defense line near Yong Dong. The effort was futile because some of the units had been cut off or infiltrated by greater numbers of North Korean forces, leading to retreat.
Back at the medical station, the wounded slowly began arriving. Eventually, the bodies of the dead were buried in an impersonal grave a few miles from where they died. In this photograph, Chaplain John G. Burkhalter reads a prayer while the shrouded bodies of 21 men are lowered and placed side by side in this grave near Kumch'on.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1950
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.130
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.130
General MacArthur's famous old and battered corn cob pipe was a familar fixture. MacArthur smoked this pipe in less formal occasions, usually outdoors while chatting with the troops on the front lines.
Description
General MacArthur's famous old and battered corn cob pipe was a familar fixture. MacArthur smoked this pipe in less formal occasions, usually outdoors while chatting with the troops on the front lines. He is standing most likely on the deck of his flagship moments before going ashore at Lingayen Gulf in Luzon. In an inscription on the back of the picture, Mydans wrote: "Where are his hands? They're in his back pocket. It's his usual position."
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1945
photographer
Mydans, Carl
ID Number
2005.0228.074
accession number
2005.0228
catalog number
2005.0228.074

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