Archives of American Art

Farm Security Administration (FSA) selected records and photographs

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.unstfsad
Creators:
United States. Farm Security Administration. Historical Section
Dates:
1935-1942
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
2 Items
Textual records: 2 partial microfilm reels
218 Items
Photographs
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Scattered textual records selected from the Farm Security Administration, Historical Section records at the Library of Congress and the Farmers Home Administration records at the National Archives primarily revolving around activities of Roy Stryker. Included are personnel and travel records, typescripts of photograph captions, correspondence, memoranda, files on public relations and exhibits, and printed material.
Scope and Contents
218 copy prints of photographs of America taken for the FSA, including landscapes, people, homes and other architecture, rural scenes, urban scenes, workers, products of farm and industry, transportation, entertainment, and the Quarter Circle U Ranch, Birney, Montana. Photographers include: Arthur Rothstein, Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, John Collier, Marion Post Wolcott, Jack Delano, Russell Lee, John Vachon, Ben Shahn, Carl Mydans, and Edwin Rosskam.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Established 1935 in the Resettlement Administration Historical Section's photographic project to document poverty stricken rural America under the direction of Roy E. Stryker. In 1937, Roosevelt established the FSA, and the Resettlement Administration and its programs fell under its auspices. The Historical Section of the Resettlement Administration remained intact under the FSA, and continued its photographic survey and historical documentation under Stryker's direction.
Biographical / Historical
After 1942, the photographs project was transplanted to the Office War Information, and the emphasis of the project shifted from rural and urban conditions throughout Depression-era U.S. to the domestic impact of the war. In 1946, Congress created the Farmers Home Administration (FHA) which absorbed the FSA and its programs.

Administration

Existence and Location of Copies
35mm microfilm reels FSA/WDC1-FSA/WDC2 available at Archives of American Art offices and through interlibrary loan.
Existence and Location of Originals
Reel FSA/WDC1 and photographs: Originals in Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C.
Existence and Location of Originals
Reels FSA/WDC2: Originals in the National Archives, Washington, D.C., Record Group 96, Farmers Home Administration records.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Microfilm and copy prints donated by the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, 1965.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Reel FSA/WDC2: Record Group 96, textual records of the Farmers Home Administration include the records of the FSA, predecessor to the FHA.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Related Materials
Additional FSA-OWI records located at: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division (microfilm available at LC)
Related Materials
Additional Stryker papers located at: Photographic Archives University of Louisville, Louisville, Ky. 40208

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Photography -- United States -- Landscape -- Photographs Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photography -- United States -- Portraits -- Photographs Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Architectural photography -- United States -- Photographs Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Federal aid to the public welfare -- Photographs Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Federal aid to the arts Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
New Deal, 1933-1939 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Agencies Function Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Stryker, Roy Emerson, 1893-1975 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Wolcott, Marion Post, 1910-1990 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Collier, John, Jr., 1913-1992 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Delano, Jack Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Evans, Walker, 1903-1975 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lange, Dorothea Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lee, Russell, 1903-1986 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mydans, Carl Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rosskam, Edwin, 1903-1985 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rothstein, Arthur, 1915-1985 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Shahn, Ben, 1898-1969 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Vachon, John, 1914-1975 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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