(Chicago, Illinois, 1884 - 1959, Heber Springs, Arkansas)
c. 1940
Gelatin silver print
5 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. (14.0 x 8.9 cm)
Collection of the Akron Art Museum
Gift of Todd Gitlin
2007.223
This photograph is part of an extensive chronicle of the small town of Herber Springs, Arkansas, where Disfarmer lived for most of his life. Through portraiture, Disfarmer documented the hardship, uncertainty and strength of the generations living through the Great Depression and World War II. His direct and unvarnished approach to his subjects is typical of mid-twentieth-century American vernacular portraiture.