Knitter in Hoisery Mill, Alabama
1914
Lewis Hine took photographs to promote social reform. On behalf of the National Child Labor Committee, he set out to document conditions for young children working in various agricultural and industrial operations. To gain entry into these mills, he invented guises and posed as a fire inspector, post card vendor, Bible salesman, and impoverished schoolteacher. In his photographs, children tend to look out from their surroundings with tough expressions, steeling themselves against what Hine called "the vicious circle of poverty that awaits them."
Gelatin silver print
4 5/8 x 6 5/8 in. (11.8 x 16.8 cm)
Gift of Chuck Kuhn
87.71