The New York Public Library, Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, Photography Collection
Man and Micrometer, by Lewis Wickes Hine. Silver gelatin print, New York, 1920.
This photograph comes from a series of "work portraits" made by the documentary photographer Lewis Wickes Hine between 1920 and 1940. Unlike Hine's previous documentary projects, which exposed the harsh experiences of the American immigrant at home and at work, this new series set out to honor the relationship between man and machine. Hine viewed the machine as a tool to ease the burdens of America's labor force, and these photographs show his unique ability to capture the power of the majestic machines unleashed by the dominant hands of the men who used them.
This photograph comes from a series of "work portraits" made by the documentary photographer Lewis Wickes Hine between 1920 and 1940. Unlike Hine's previous documentary projects, which exposed the harsh experiences of the American immigrant at home and at work, this new series set out to honor the relationship between man and machine. Hine viewed the machine as a tool to ease the burdens of America's labor force, and these photographs show his unique ability to capture the power of the majestic machines unleashed by the dominant hands of the men who used them.
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