The Prints & Photographs Division’s collection of posters produced for the Work Projects Administration (WPA) in the 1930s and 1940s is one of many highlights among the division’s extensive poster holdings. These posters touch on a number of themes, including public health and occupational safety, travel and tourism, recreation and educational programs and World War …
The following is a guest post by Martha H. Kennedy, Curator of Popular and Applied Graphic Arts, Prints and Photographs Division. Herb Block (aka Herblock) (1909-2001), legendary cartoonist for the Washington Post and four-time Pulitzer Prize winner, probably never met Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), but he did admire this artist and his art. He also admired, …
A recent Picture This blog post aptly titled: Posing (and Solving) Mysteries: Harris & Ewing Photographs Invite Detective Work included a photo that did invite some additional detective work! This leads us to this latest entry in our occasional series, Double Take, where we take a much closer look at images in our collections. My …
The following is a guest post by Micah Messenheimer, Curator of Photography, Prints & Photographs Division. Who is the woman in this photograph? JD Sloan’s portrait offers an aura of mystery while commenting on both the glamour and the tedium of celebrity culture. Country singer Tammy Wynette stands on a dark Opryland stage facing away …
This guest post by Katherine Blood, Curator of Fine Prints, Prints & Photographs Division, highlights posters that complement the New York Poster House exhibition “The Letterpress Posters of Amos Kennedy” (October 8, 2020–January 3, 2021), curated by Angelina Lippert. Detroit-based letterpress artist Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. wields wood type and ink in ways that can …
The following is a guest post by Gillian Mahoney, Technical Services Technician in the Prints & Photographs Division. Are drive-in theaters making a comeback? Because of the current pandemic, many are seeking socially distant yet still sociable activities, and drive-in movie theaters offer a perfect combination. In the 1950s and 60s drive-ins were wildly popular, …
The following is a guest post by Helena Zinkham, Chief, Prints and Photographs Division. I could look at photographs all day long. Contemporary or historical, black-and-white or color, provocative or soothing, portrait or landscape. All kinds of images can draw my interest, and some photos have the power to stop me in my tracks. These …
We asked reference librarian Jon Eaker, who has spent many years exploring our holdings of military images, to select a couple of favorites to feature in honor of Veterans Day. It’s a tall order to pick out just two, given the thousands of images we hold of members of the armed forces depicted in peacetime …
On November 7, 1916, nearly four years before the Nineteenth Amendment gave American women the right to vote nationally, Jeannette Rankin was elected to represent Montana in the United States House of Representatives. Images of Rankin in the Prints & Photographs Division’s collections portray her both in her role as congresswoman and as activist for …
![Miss Janette [i.e., Jeannette] Rankin. Photo by National Photo Company, between 1909 and 1920. http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/npcc.20183](https://blogs.loc.gov/picturethis/files/2020/11/Rankin_Catt-20183.jpg)