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Preview image of work. gelatin silver print,  Untitled, from Harlem Document 9993

1988.10

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Untitled, from Harlem Document

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Artist

Aaron Siskind (New York City, New York, 12/4/1903 - 2/8/1991, Providence, Rhode Island)

Title

Untitled, from Harlem Document

Creation Date

1939

Century

20th century

Dimensions

9 7/16 in. x 7 7/16 in. (24 cm. x 18.9 cm.)

Classification

Photographs

Creation Place

North America, United States

Medium and Support

gelatin silver print

Credit Line

Museum Purchase

Copyright

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

Accession Number

1988.10

Aaron Siskind photographed this African American woman ascending a staircase in Harlem. Perhaps he captured the moment as she returned home from work, her face positioned away from the camera. How Siskind gained access to this private, domestic space is unknown. The home is in disrepair based on the crumbling and peeling plaster ceiling, scratched bannister, and half-painted wall. For women such as the one depicted in this photograph, there were limited employment options available in urban environments. Some women in the North hired themselves out for labor by the day or any duration they could get. By the 1930s nine out of ten employed Black women worked as domestic servants and could only find seasonal or part-time employment. During the Great Depression, these women and their families learned to live with few material resources, often living in substandard conditions as a means of survival.