Working Nine to Five

ANONYMOUS

"Bad News for Bandits"

1932, silver print, ca. 1932
6 1/2 x 8 1/2, United Press Newspictures stamps and
paper description label on print verso.

ANONYMOUS

"Railwaymen as Air Raid Precautions Volunteers"

1938, silver print, ca. 1938
9 11/16 x 7 1/2, Planet News Ltd. stamps and
paper description label on print verso

ANONYMOUS

"William Voelker Jr. Peddles Bicycle to Pump Gas"

1946, silver print, ca. 1946
7 11/16 x 9 3/8, Acme Photo stamp and
paper description label on print verso

ILSE BING

"Shoeshine"

1936, silver print, ca. 1936
11 x 8 3/16, artist's name and
date in white ink in upper right corner of print.

ILSE BING

"Three Men with Brooms"

1947, silver print, ca. 1947
13 1/16 x 9 3/8, signed and dated in ink on
lower right corner of print.

MARGARET BOURKE-WHITE

Steinway Piano Factory

1934, silver print, ca. 1934
12 15/16 x 9, Description in pencil in unknown hand
two Fortune stamps on print verso.

BILL BRANDT

"Brighton"

ca. 1937, silver print, ca. 1937
8 1/2 x 6 1/4, Photo Bill Brandt stamp on verso.

CHARLOTTE BROOKS

Bait House, City Island, NY

1940s, silver print, ca. 1940
10 x 8 1/2.

More Exhibition Photographs

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Work 9-5 

Photographs of people working, or at least images of them with the tools of their trade, have been taken since the first daguerreotypes back in the 1840s. In every culture and in almost every occupation people have been depicted engaging in their everyday tasks, from factory workers to shoeshiners to coal miners, photographers have had a fascination with documenting others at work.

Perhaps one of the best known photographer's of labor was Lewis Hine. Not only did Hine document the cruel and exploitive environment of many working class people, he also depicted the dignity of labor, and through his photographs he was able to inspire social change. Dorothea Lange and Arthur Rothstein were just two photographers from a small group working for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) in the 1930s and 40s. They traveled throughout the United States photographing people working at whatever jobs they could find during the Great Depression.

There are the images by photographer's like Weegee. Through his lens came portrayals of the dark side of some professions, such as in the image "Cop and Woman" where we see an officer dragging a woman away from a car. And on the other side of the spectrum there are whimsical photographs such as in the work of Bill Brandt. As seen in the photograph entitled "Brighton" the viewer is instantly drawn into the world of the Fair and transported into another moment in time. Whether we are looking at people working in a factory or coming out of a coal mine after a long day, we can all relate to the drudgery and fulfillment of working 9 to 5.

Member of The Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD)