Marion Post Wolcott FSA Photograph

Wolcott, Marion Post FSA Photograph. Silver gelatin print photograph. Cataloged and titled as “Uncle George who has worked in the blacksmith and carpentry shop on Marcella Plantation ever since he left prison fifty years ago. Mileston, Mississippi Delta, Mississippi 1939 Oct.” taken for the Farm Security Administration – Office of War Information Photograph Collection (Library of Congress). Library of Congress catalog LC-USF33- 030534-M1. The photograph dates to the 1970s and is stamped “reproduced from the collections of the Library of Congress” on the reverse of the sheet. The reverse also with the title of the photograph in handwritten pencil, the date of October 1939, and the artist signature also handwritten in pencil inscribed “Marion Post Wolcott.”

Wolcott’s photographs on behalf of the FSA Photography helped to define the experience and greater understanding of the Great Depression and its effect on the rural plain states and the deep sough. Wolcott worked as a photojournalist for the Associate’s Press in 1935, worked under Roy Stryker at the Farm Security Administration during the late 1930s and early 1940s. This photograph was part of her assignment to document the deep south creating a rich and vibrant portfolio of images documenting the American experience during the early 20th century. The Farm Security Administration (FSA) was part of the New Deal agency started in 1937 to address rural poverty related to the Great Depression in the United States.

The FSA succeeded the Resettlement Administration (1935–1937). The FSA 1935-1944 was responsible for shaping American photography’s understanding and further addressed the crushing effects of rural poverty. The photographs in the FSA/Office of War Information, including this image taken by Wolcott, form a historically significant pictorial history of American life between 1935 and 1944. This image, a historical image of Mississippi, and a photograph of a Southern plantation and deep south photography in general from the early 20th century capture the straightforward depictions of everyday objects and scenes is a precise composition with evocative allure.

The sheet measures 8 x 10 inches. The image measures 6.50 x 9.55 inches.

The photograph displays circular edge loss to the margin edges. The photograph surface displays minor abrasions and surface imperfections with markings and notations on the reverse.