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Preview image of work. gelatin silver print,  Passengers in the Greyhound Bus Terminal, NYC 11584

1998.4

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Passengers in the Greyhound Bus Terminal, NYC

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Artist

Esther Bubley (Phillips, WIsconsin, 1921 - 1998, New York City, New York)

Title

Passengers in the Greyhound Bus Terminal, NYC

Creation Date

1947

Century

20th century

Dimensions

9 1/16 in. x 13 3/16 in. (23.02 cm. x 33.5 cm.)

Classification

Photographs

Creation Place

North America, United States, New York

Medium and Support

gelatin silver print

Credit Line

Museum Purchase, Lloyd O. and Marjorie Strong Coulter Fund

Copyright

This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s Copyright Terms and Conditions.

Accession Number

1998.4

This photograph of two African American men at a terminal in New York City was part of a larger project to photograph bus facilities around the country, a commission Esther Bubley received from Standard Oil in 1947. Bubley had much experience traveling on assignment, having focused her lens on public transportation before. In 1943 she journeyed from Washington, D.C. to Memphis and back with the goal of documenting wartime bus routes for the Office of War Information. Two years later she was in Texas to record the field operations of Standard Oil, again taking the bus to get around. Given the success of that project, executives at Standard Oil hired her for this project, perhaps hoping to improve the company’s reputation after allegations that it had collaborated with Germany during World War II.