Farm Security Administration Collection

MIGRANT MOTHER, 1936. Florence Thompson, a 32-year-old migrant worker and mother of seven, with her children in a camp for migrant workers in Nipomo, California, 1936

WEST VIRGINIA: COAL MINE. The next trip. Coal miners sitting in a mining car, ready to go into the mine shaft at Maidsville, West Virginia. Photograph by Marion Post Wolcott, September 1938

MONTANA: DROUGHT, 1936. Man fleeing drought and grasshoppers in South Carolina, with his Model T Ford on Highway 10, Missoula, Montana. Photograph by Arthur Rothstein, 1936

MIGRANT WORKERS, 1941. Shacks of African American migrant workers in Belle Glade, Florida. Photograph, February 1941

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SHARECROPPER FAMILY, 1936. Bud Fields and his family, in Hale County, Alabama. Photograph by Walker Evans, 1936

Field of Burley tobacco on farm of Russell Spears, drying and curing barn in the background, vicinity of Lexington
7301389 Field of Burley tobacco on farm of Russell Spears, drying and curing barn in the background, vicinity of Lexington, 1939 (photo) by Wolcott

Portrait of Francis Grose, FSA (engraving)
7179143 Portrait of Francis Grose, FSA (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Portrait of Francis Grose, FSA)

COAL MINERs CHILD, 1938. Coal miners child using a hole in the door to enter a bedroom with a smoking pipe in one hand and a gun in the other in Bertha Hill, West Virginia

CHRISTMAS POOR, 1936. A Christmas Day dinner of potatoes, cabbage and pie at the home of Earl Pauley, Smithfield, Iowa, 1936. Photograph by Russell Lee

MIGRANT FAMILY, 1936. An African American woman braids another womans hair while she cradles her baby, Earle, Arkansas. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, July 1936

MIGRANT WORKERS, 1939. A family of migrant workers with their automobile in the Arkansas River bottoms near Vian, Oklahoma. Photograph by Russell Lee, 1939

COAL MINERs FAMILY, 1938. Wife and children of a coal miner sitting on a porch in Pursglove, West Virginia. Photograph by Marion Post Wolcott, September 1938

LOG CABIN, 1940. Child in doorway of an old mountain cabin made of hand-hewn logs, in Jackson Kentucky. Photograph by Marion Post Wolcott, September 1940

SHARECROPPERs WIFE, 1935. Pregnant mother and child of a sharecropped in their shack, Washington County, Arkansas. Photograph by Arthur Rothstein, 1935

A Saturday night at a Craigsville, Minnesota, saloon. Photograph, 1937, by Russell Lee
SALOON, 1937. A Saturday night at a Craigsville, Minnesota, saloon. Photograph, 1937, by Russell Lee

PITTSBURGH SLUM, 1938. Housing in the slum section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Photograph by Arthur Rothstein in July, 1938

DROUGHT REFUGEE, 1936. Oklahoma drought refugees in Blythe, California. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, 1936

SQUARE DANCE, 1940. Square dancing at home in Pie Town, New Mexico. Photograph, 1940, by Russell Lee

PUERTO RICO: SUGAR CANE. Workers on a plantation near Ponce, Puerto Rico unloading sugar cane onto a train for shipment to the refinery. Oil over a photograph, 1938, by Edwin Rosskam

Burning money, 1920s German inflation C016 / 4519
Burning money. Woman burning German currency (German Papiermark) during the hyperinflation in Germany in the early 1920s. Before World War I, the Germany currency was known as the Goldmark

POST OFFICE, 1935. The Post Office at Nethers, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, October 1935. Photographed by Arthur Rothstein

NYC: TENEMENT, 1936. View from rear window of the tenement house of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Solomon at 133 Avenue D, New York City. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, June 1936

KANSAS: JEFFERSON COUNTY. A young farmer from Jefferson County, Kansas. Photograph by John Vachon, October 1938

MINNESOTA: HOBO, 1939. A man in hobo jungle killing a turtle to make soup in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Photograph by John Vachon, September 1939

PAUL BUNYAN MONUMENT, 1939. Woman standing in front of the Paul Bunyan Monument in Bemidji, Minnesota. Photograph by John Vachon, September 1939

LODGING HOUSE, 1938. Home converted to a lodging house in Marysville, Ohio. Photograph by Ben Shahn, Summer 1938

OHIO: COLUMBUS, 1938. Man stands in the entrance to a lunchroom in Columbus, Ohio. Photograph by Ben Shahn, August 1938

NEW JERSEY, 1936. View of Seabrook Farms between Bridgeton and Vineland, New Jersey. Photograph by Edwin Rosskam, 1936

CHICAGO: EASTER, 1941. Easter procession outside of an African American church in Chicago, Illinois. Photograph by Edwin Rosskam, April 1941

CHICAGO, 1941. Portrait of a man in Chicago, Illinois. Photograph by Edwin Rosskam, July 1941

EASTER MORNING, 1941. Boys dressed up for Easter on the Southside of Chicago, Illinois. Photograph by Russell Lee, April 1941

WOMAN IN FIELD, 1935. Woman standing in cotton field, Pulaski County, Arkansas. Photograph by Ben Shahn, 1935

IDAHO: BASQUE SHEEP HERDER. A Basque sheep herder with pack horses, on his way back from summer camp, Adams County, Idaho. Photographed by Dorothea Lange, October 1939

SHARECROPPER, 1938. Former sharecropper, now a Farm Security Administration client at a southeast Missouri farm. Photograph by Russell Lee, 1938

POVERTY: GIRL, 1936. A young girl living in a shantytown for migrant workers in Elm Grove, Oklahoma. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, August 1936

NEW ORLEANS: UNEMPLOYED, 1935. Job applicants waiting outside the offices of the Federal Employment Recovery Administration in New Orleans, Louisiana. Photographed by Ben Shahn, October 1935

WPA REHABILITATION CLIENT. Rehabilitation client rolling a cigarette. Photograph taken for the Farm Security in Gage County, October 1938

KANSAS: TOBACCO, 1938. A man lighting a cigarette in a tobacco field in Coffey County, Kansas. Photograph by John Vachon, 1938

CHINA: WASHING LAUNDRY. A family washing laundry in a stream by their home in Chefang, China. The strong soap rinsed from the clothes keeps the stream free of mosquitoes for about 100 yards

CHINESE CREW MEMBERS, 1942. Two Chinese seamen on shore leave from a British freighter try typical American street food for the first time in New York City

MIGRANT CAMP, 1938. A young girl sitting in a tire in Circlevilles Hooverville, central Ohio, Photograph by Ben Shahn, 1938

GEORGIA: SCHOOL BUS, 1941. Home of a school bus driver and former tenant farmer who was able to buy his house with the help of the Farm Security Administration, near Greensboro, Georgia

COAL MINERS, 1938. Two coal miners at Scotts Run, West Virginia. Photograph by Marion Post Wolcott, September 1938

NEW JERSEY: MINSTRELS. African American minstrels in a truck advertising their show at an agricultural workers camp, Bridgeton, New Jersey. Photographed by John Collier, July 1942

COAL MINERS, 1935. Kentucky coal miners taking a work break, Jenkins, Kentucky. Photograph by Ben Shahn, October 1935

COAL MINER, 1942. Coal miner at end of the days work at Montour #4 mine of the Pittsburgh Coal Company, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Photograph by John Collier, November 1942

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"Capturing the Struggles and Resilience: The Farm Security Administration" The Farm Security Administration (FSA) played a crucial role in documenting the hardships faced by Americans during the Great Depression. Through powerful photographs, such as Dorothea Lange's iconic "Migrant Mother, " we are transported to a camp for migrant workers in Nipomo, California, where Florence Thompson and her seven children epitomize the resilience of those seeking better lives. In 1936, Arthur Rothstein's lens captured a haunting image of a dust storm engulfing the Texas panhandle—a stark reminder of the devastating impact of drought on farmers' livelihoods. Meanwhile, coal miners sitting in a mining car in West Virginia symbolize both their arduous labor and their contribution to powering America. The FSA also shed light on environmental challenges like drought and grasshoppers through images like that of a man fleeing these calamities in Montana. Similarly, African American migrant workers' shacks in Belle Glade, Florida—photographed by Russell Lee—highlighted racial inequalities prevalent at that time. Bud Fields and his family from Hale County, Alabama became symbols of sharecroppers struggling to make ends meet amidst economic hardship. A field filled with Burley tobacco serves as an example of agricultural practices during this era while Francis Grose's portrait represents one individual among many affected by these circumstances. Furthermore, an image capturing a farmer opening gates to allow water into fields from irrigation ditches showcases efforts made towards sustainable farming practices even during challenging times. Coal miner's child using a hole in the door to enter depicts how adversity seeped into every aspect of life for working-class families. Even Christmas Day was not spared from poverty; Earl Pauley's home in Smithfield, Iowa witnessed meager celebrations with potatoes, cabbage, and pie being served as dinner—an enduring testament to resourcefulness amidst scarcity.