Children of Construction Workers in Trailer Camp. Portsmouth, Virginia
Artist
John Vachon
(American, 1914-1975)
CultureAmerican
Date1941
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsOverall, Image: 9 5/16 × 7 1/8 in. (23.7 × 18.1 cm)
Overall, Support: 10 × 8 in. (25.4 × 20.3 cm)
Overall, Mat: 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm)
Overall, Support: 10 × 8 in. (25.4 × 20.3 cm)
Overall, Mat: 20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm)
Credit LinePurchase, Horace W. Goldsmith Fund
Object number84.78.56
On View
Not on viewLabel TextJohn Vachon American, 1914–1975 Children of Construction Workers in Trailer Camp. Portsmouth, Virginia, March 1941 Gelatin silver print (photograph), printed 1984 The 1900 U.S. Census estimated that “approximately 2 million children were working in mills, mines, fields, factories, stores, and on city streets across the United States.” In 1938, President Roosevelt’s Fair Labor Standards Act helped protect children by setting a minimum working age of 14 years for employment outside school hours. In John Vachon’s photograph, three boys play outside their Portsmouth home, suggesting a childhood free from labor. Chrysler Museum purchase 84.78.56 ProvenancePurchased prints from Library of Congress (negatives on file at Library of Congress,) 1984.Exhibition History"Mountaineers to Main Streets: The Old Dominion as seen through the Farm Security Administration Photographs," Large Changing Gallery, Chrysler Museum of Art, May 3 - June 16, 1985. Published ReferencesBrooks Johnson. _Mountaineers to Main Streets: The Old Dominion as seen through the Farm Security Administration Photographs_. The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA. 1985: p. 134.
