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Italian Family Seeking Lost Baggage, Ellis Island

A work made of gelatin silver print.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of gelatin silver print.

Date:

1905

Artist:

Lewis Wickes Hine
American, 1874–1940

About this artwork

Beginning in 1905, Lewis Hine began trekking to Ellis Island to photograph immigrants entering America through the New York port. His purpose was to show newcomers to the United States as dignified individuals rather than anonymous masses of foreigners, as the press frequently portrayed them. Hine went on to develop a form of documentary photography that advanced social reform and at times even resulted in changes to the law, as seen most famously in his images of child labor. In this photograph of an Italian family, Hine likened the mother to a Madonna figure, employing Renaissance art to evoke the sympathy of his viewers.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Photography and Media

Artist

Lewis Wickes Hine

Title

Italian Family Seeking Lost Baggage, Ellis Island

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1905

Medium

Gelatin silver print

Inscriptions

Unmarked recto; inscribed verso, upper center, in graphite: "6 [encircled]"

Dimensions

Image: 17.4 × 12.5 cm (6 7/8 × 4 15/16 in.); Paper: 19.6 × 17 cm (7 3/4 × 6 3/4 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of David Vestal

Reference Number

1965.349

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/23347/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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