Lewis Wickes Hine (1874–1940)

Furman Owens, 12 years old, Olympia Mill, Columbia, South Carolina, 1909

Details

Lewis Wickes Hine (1874–1940)
Furman Owens, 12 years old, Olympia Mill, Columbia, South Carolina, 1909
gelatin silver print
numbered 'n.557' and '557' in pencil (verso); credited, titled and dated '1913' on affixed gallery label (frame backing board)
image: 4 1/2 x 6 1/2 in. (11.4 x 16.5 cm.)
sheet: 5 x 7 in. (12.8 x 17.9 cm.)

Provenance

The Witkin Gallery, New York;
acquired from the above by John M. Bransten, San Francisco, 1972;
by descent to the present owner.

Literature

Vicki Goldberg, Lewis W. Hine: Children at Work, Prestel, Munich, London, New York, 1999, p. 65.

Sale Room Notice

Please note this lot will now be offered not subject to a reserve.

Lot Essay

Lewis Hine's full field notes for this image read, 'Furman Owens, 12 years old. Can't read. Doesn't know ABCs. "Yes, I want to learn, but can't when I work all the time." Been in mills 4 years, 3 years in Olympia Mill. Columbia, S.C., Jan. 16, 1909' (Vicki Goldberg, Lewis W. Hine, Children at Work, p. 65).

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