West Virgina, Driver, Hours 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
1909
Shot during Hine's groundbreaking investigation into child labor abuses, this portrait reveals the grueling ten-and-a-half-hour workdays endured by young miners. The photograph exemplifies Hine's ability to combine social activism with powerful visual storytelling.
- Medium
- Gelatin silver print
- Location
- Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Spotted works by Lewis Wickes Hine
Artists in conversation
Dorothea Lange
American · b. 1895
Lange created gelatin silver documentary portraits of working class Americans during the Great Depression, sharing Hine's commitment to social activism through black and white photography that humanizes vulnerable subjects in exploitative labor conditions.
August Sander
German · b. 1876
Sander produced black and white gelatin silver portraits of working class laborers and tradespeople in the early 20th century, combining a documentary approach with serious portraiture that dignifies subjects defined by their occupational roles.
Jacob Riis
American · b. 1849
Riis was a pioneering American documentary photographer who used black and white photography as a direct tool for social reform, exposing the harsh living and working conditions of impoverished communities in the same early 20th century reform tradition as Hine.
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