Terms and conditions of use
Jitterbugging in a juke joint on Saturday night, Clarksdale, Mississippi
(1939); printed (c. 1975)
Medium
gelatin silver photograph
Measurements
36.7 × 49.3 cm (image) 40.7 × 50.5 cm (sheet)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1975
© Library of Congress, FSA Collection
Gallery location
Special Exhibitions Gallery
Ground Level, NGV International
About this work
Marion Post Wolcott had a keen sense of social justice, having lived in Austria in the early 1930s, where she witnessed firsthand the rise of Nazism. On her return home to New York in 1933, she was determined to use her photography to raise awareness of social inequalities. While working for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) in the segregated American South, Wolcott witnessed the bleak economic situation endured by African Americans, which was exacerbated by the Great Depression. With an ‘open eye’, Wolcott captured both the positive effects of the FSA and the difficult realities of daily life. Her candid images of African American communities in the South – such as this joyful shot of people dancing – countered the dominant images of Black lives as they were commonly represented in mainstream media.
Artwork Details
Accession Number
PH146-1975
Department
International Photography
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Daryl and Anne Whinney