The State Street Theatre, Chicago
<p>Walker Evans began his 20-year tenure as photographer and photo editor at <em>Fortune</em> magazine in 1945. For the February 1947 feature, “Chicago: A Camera Exploration of the Huge, Energetic Urban Sprawl of the Midlands,” Evans was described as avoiding the city’s “prized and remarkable postcard colossi,” focusing instead on sights that made the city “one of the most arresting spots in the hemisphere.” This unpublished image of an advertisement for the 1940 exploitation film <em>Souls in Pawn</em> exemplifies Evans’s ongoing obsession with the American vernacular language of signs and advertisements. He took it at the Joyland Theater (originally the Chicago Theatre), a burlesque club and movie theater that stood on State Street in Chicago’s South Loop.<br>— Permanent collection label</p>
Catalogue
- Year
- 1946
- Medium
- Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions
- Image: 19.1 × 18.3 cm (7 9/16 × 7 1/4 in.); Paper: 27.7 × 25.3 cm (10 15/16 × 10 in.)
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Artist
- Walker Evans
Artist
Photography
Walker Evans (1903-1975) was an American photographer and photojournalist, best known for his work documenting the effects of the Great Depression through his precise, candid portrayals of everyday life. His most famous project, conducted for the Farm Security Administration (FSA), captured the faces and living conditions of struggling farmers and their families, providing an indelible record of the era. Evans's style, characterized by its clarity, detail, and lack of embellishment, influenced generations of photographers and artists. His work goes beyond mere documentation to reveal the beauty in the ordinary, making him a pivotal figure in the history of photography. Evans's photographs have been exhibited globally and remain influential in both art and social documentary contexts.
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More by Walker Evans
Going Out of Business IV
1974 · Internal dye diffusion transfer print
Untitled
1974 · Color instant print (Polaroid)
West Street, Dead End (Sign Detail)
1973 · Instant color print
Untitled, London
1973 · Chromogenic print
Guthrie, Kentucky, New Year's Day
1970 · Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1970 by James Dow
Jack Heliker's Bedroom Wall, Cranberry Island, Maine
1969 · Gelatin silver print
Record
Verified by WattsOS- Artist
- Walker Evans
- Year
- 1946
- Medium
- Gelatin silver print
- Dimensions
- Image: 19.1 × 18.3 cm (7 9/16 × 7 1/4 in.); Paper: 27.7 × 25.3 cm (10 15/16 × 10 in.)
- Watts ID
- WW-1946-105519
Source
- Collection
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Source
- aic
- Reference
- View at source
- Status
- verified