Walker Evans

Walker Evans was an American photographer renowned for his work documenting American life, particularly during the Great Depression. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Evans studied at Williams College and later developed his photographic style while living in Paris in the 1920s. Upon returning to the U.S., he worked for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) in the 1930s, where he produced some of his most iconic images, including his series of rural poverty in the South.

Evans’ photographs are known for their simplicity, precision, and quiet intensity. He often employed a detached, almost documentary approach, capturing the everyday lives of ordinary people, vernacular architecture, and signs of American culture. His style is characterized by clean lines, an emphasis on geometric composition, and a focus on the unseen, which has made his work timeless and evocative.

One of his most famous works is Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (1941), a collaboration with writer James Agee, which focused on sharecroppers in Alabama. Evans’ photography is often associated with the concept of “social realism,” though he always sought to create art through his depictions of the American landscape. His work has had a profound influence on modern photography, and his images are housed in major collections such as the Museum of Modern Art in New York.