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Lewis Hine — Tenement Product, Chicago
Lewis Hine

Tenement Product, Chicago

A young woman sits hunched over her work in the cramped, dimly lit interior of a tenement home, her hands engaged in the repetitive labor of industrial piecework. Lewis Hine's unflinching documentary photograph exposes the hidden reality of home-based manufacturing, where the boundaries between domestic life and exploitative labor were dangerously blurred. The stark tones of the gelatin silver print emphasize both the poverty of the surroundings and the quiet dignity of the worker, hallmarks of Hine's compassionate yet activist approach to social photography.

Medium
Gelatin silver print, printed 1920s.

🔨 Auction Lot

Important Photographs from the Collection of Dr. Anthony Terrana

April 2, 2013

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About this work

Lewis Hine, Tenement Product, Chicago

A young woman sits hunched over her work in the cramped, dimly lit interior of a tenement home, her hands engaged in the repetitive labor of industrial piecework. Lewis Hine's unflinching documentary photograph exposes the hidden reality of home-based manufacturing, where the boundaries between domestic life and exploitative labor were dangerously blurred. The stark tones of the gelatin silver print emphasize both the poverty of the surroundings and the quiet dignity of the worker, hallmarks of Hine's compassionate yet activist approach to social photography.

Medium
Gelatin silver print, printed 1920s.
Seen at
Phillips, New York, London, Hong Kong

Related themes

Labor Conditions, Reformist Photography, Urban Life, Male Artist, Documentary Photography, Early 20th Century, Gelatin Silver Print, American Photographer, Somber Mood, Black and White, Social Realism

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