Walker Evans's primary subjects were poor Americans found in rural settings, roadside stands, cheap cafes, simple bedrooms, and small-town main streets. He was drawn to capturing people when “their guard is down, and the mask is off.”
The Great Depression years of 1935–36 were some of the peak years for Evans's photography. During those important years Evans honed his skills of observation: “Stare. It is the way to educate your eye, and more. Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long.”
Evans's iconic images of small-town barbers, churches and cemeteries reveal a deep respect for the common man. In addition to the iconic Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, a book of photos by Walker Evans and text by American writer James Agee, published in 1941, Evans's book First and Last included the Burroughs Family photographs.
From the first day he turned to his camera, Evans brought literature, lyricism, irony and storytelling to the art of photography.
"Leaving aside the mysteries and the inequities of human talent, brains, taste and reputations, the matter of art in photography may come down to this: it is the capture and projection of the delights of seeing; it is the defining of observation full and felt," Evans said.
Find original Walker Evans photography on 1stDibs.
JAMES AGEE, OLD FIELD POINT, LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK, 1937.
By Walker Evans
Located in Portland, ME
Evans, Walker (American, 1903–1975). JAMES AGEE, OLD FIELD POINT, LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK, 1937. Gelatin silver print. This example was offerd at Christies in 2018; catalogued by the...
Silver Gelatin
$12,000
"Class A Steam Locomotive: The Second Set of Drivers" Walker Evans, Train Photo
By Walker Evans
Located in New York, NY
Walker Evans Class A Steam Locomotive: The Second Set of Drivers, 1958 Inscribed "For Calvert from Walker" lower right Gelatin silver print 10 x 10 1/2 inches Provenance The artist ...
Silver Gelatin
Ted Higby at Skyline Rodeo, 1928
By Lora Webb Nichols
Located in New York, NY
Listing includes framing with UV plexiglas, free shipping and a 14 day return policy. Ted Higby at Skyline Rodeo, 1928 15 x 12 inch gelatin silver print Image Size: 14 x 8.5 inches Frame size: 22.5 x 17.5 x 2 inches Edition of 15 Lora Webb Nichols was born in 1883 and grew up in the small mining town of Encampment, Wyoming. At the age of 16 Lora received her first camera and from that moment and for the next few decades she produced work that is both stunning in its singular voice and revealing in the world it opens up for us. At first Nichols photographed her family, friends, and the landscape around Encampment, but when the town experienced a copper mining boom Nichols expanded her scope to become a photographer for hire shooting portraits and industrial photographs. When the boom collapsed, Nichols took the risk of opening her own business in Encampment - The Rocky Mountain Studio - which opened in 1925. The studio ran for ten years, accumulating 24,000 negatives that illustrate the lives and environment of the people living in and around the town while creating a distinctive and surprising body of work. If one was to attempt an analogy – Nichols’ pictures fit somewhere between Lartigue and Lange - joyful and generous while objectively intimate. In particular what seems to distinguish Nichols’ work is the way she sees the world from a female perspective. As Vince Aletti...
Silver Gelatin
Untitled Portrait
By Seydou Keïta
Located in New York, NY
Listing includes framing with UV Plexi ($900 value), free shipping, and a 14-day return policy. Seydou Keïta Untitled Portrait, 1952 - 1955 (02158) 23...
Photographic Film, Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$10,500Sale Price|30% Off
H 8.13 in W 12.13 in
Galveston (Texas young woman portrait)
By Lee Friedlander
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Lee Friedlander (b.1934). Galveston, 1975. Gelatin silver print, 8 1/8 x 12 1/8 inches (image); 11 x 14 inches (sheet). Measures 16.5 x 20 inches framed. Excellent condition with no ...
Silver Gelatin
$4,098
H 20 in W 30 in
Sparring - Chris Smith, Muhammad Ali, Ali, boxing, black and white, 20x30 in
By Chris Smith
Located in London, GB
Chris Smith (b.1937) Sparring silver gelatin fibre based print 20 x 30 in. / 34.5 x 48 in. / 46 x 66 in. signed and numbered printed later This work is available in the following si...
Photographic Paper, Silver Gelatin
$950
H 20.63 in W 16.75 in D 1.38 in
New York City Skyscrapers, July 1931, Silver Gelatin B and W Photography Framed
By Press Agency Keystone View Company
Located in Atlanta, GA
An original silver gelatin black and white photograph by Press Agency Keystone View Company. New York City skyscrapers view, taken on July 7th, 1931, with the Empire State Building ...
Silver Gelatin
$1,800
H 18 in W 14 in
1930s Photograph of Ansel Adams and Ed Towler, Silver Gelatin Print
By Wilson D. Ellis
Located in Soquel, CA
Ansel Adams and Ed Towler by Wilson D. Ellis (American, 20th Century). Titled "Ansel and Ed Towler 1936" on verso and signed "Wilson D Ellis" with date 7/16/35 under mat. Silver Brom...
Silver Gelatin, Photographic Paper
1970s photo Male Model
By Kenn Duncan
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Kenn Duncan (1928-1986). Male Model, ca. 1973. 11 x 14 inches; 12 x 15 inches framed. From the estate of William Como, Editor in Chief, After Dark Magazine. Kenneth Duncan was born September 22, 1928, in New Jersey. He began his career as a skater and then a dancer. After breaking his foot and taking a six-week course on photography at a YMCA, he became a photographer. Duncan worked as a principal photographer for After Dark and Dance Magazine. His photographs also regularly appeared in Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Life, Time, and Newsweek. In addition, he photographed a score of Broadway shows, including Hair, Applause, The Elephant Man, and Sophisticated Ladies and many dance and Broadway stars including Chita...
Silver Gelatin
$300Sale Price|25% Off
H 14 in W 11 in D 0.75 in
1970s Fashion editorial photo Male Model
By Kenn Duncan
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Kenn Duncan (1928-1986). Fashion editorial photo of male model Pat Anderson, ca. 1973. 11 x 14 inches; 12 x 15 inches framed. The print was used for publication in After Dark Magazine. From the estate of William Como, Editor in Chief, After Dark Magazine. Kenneth Duncan was born September 22, 1928, in New Jersey. He began his career as a skater and then a dancer. After breaking his foot and taking a six-week course on photography at a YMCA, he became a photographer. Duncan worked as a principal photographer for After Dark and Dance Magazine. His photographs also regularly appeared in Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Life, Time, and Newsweek. In addition, he photographed a score of Broadway shows, including Hair, Applause, The Elephant Man, and Sophisticated Ladies and many dance and Broadway stars including Chita...
Silver Gelatin
$513
H 6.46 in W 8.47 in D 0.02 in
Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jean) as little child, ca. 1927, 16, 4 x 21, 5 cm
Located in Cologne, DE
Norma Jeane Mortenson or better known as Marilyn Monroe – iconic, beautiful and maybe the most known Hollywood Stars of the 20th century. Born and raised in Los Angeles, USA, she spe...
Silver Gelatin, Black and White
Vintage Portrait Photograph - Depth
Located in Houston, TX
Silver gelatin photograph of a close up superimposed portraits by photographer Layet, circa 1950. Original artwork on paper displayed on a white mat with a gold border. Archival pl...
Paper, Silver Gelatin
Varanasi, India
By Pentti Sammallahti
Located in Sante Fe, NM
Pentti Sammallahti is a benchmark figure in contemporary Finnish photography. His works depict nature eroded and broken down by civilization, but he does not put man and the environm...
Silver Gelatin
1970s photo Male Model
By Kenn Duncan
Located in Wilton Manors, FL
Kenn Duncan (1928-1986). Male Model, ca. 1973. 11 x 14 inches; 12 x 15 inches framed. From the estate of William Como, Editor in Chief, After Dark Magazine. Kenneth Duncan was born September 22, 1928, in New Jersey. He began his career as a skater and then a dancer. After breaking his foot and taking a six-week course on photography at a YMCA, he became a photographer. Duncan worked as a principal photographer for After Dark and Dance Magazine. His photographs also regularly appeared in Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Life, Time, and Newsweek. In addition, he photographed a score of Broadway shows, including Hair, Applause, The Elephant Man, and Sophisticated Ladies and many dance and Broadway stars including Chita...
Silver Gelatin
$2,450
H 10 in W 8 in D 0.065 in
Art Critic (Standing Before Monumental Framed Post War Abstraction)
By Henry Rox 1
Located in Camden, ME
Henry Rox (1899–1967) Art Critic (Standing Before Monumental Framed Post War Abstraction) c. 1948 Vintage silver gelatin print 8 × 10 inches Printed c. 1948 Estate stamp verso This ...
Silver Gelatin
$400
H 10 in W 8 in D 0.07 in
Bette Davis - George Hurrell Hollywood Photograph Vintage 1940
By George Hurrell
Located in Glenford, NY
Bette Davis iconic portrait by famed Hollywood art photographer George Hurrell from 1940. It is stamped on the verso with authentic Hurrell identification. This is a original mint ...
Silver Gelatin
Marilyn Monroe in "Some like it hot", 1959, 21, 4 x 12, 6 cm
Located in Cologne, DE
Norma Jeane Mortenson or better known as Marilyn Monroe – iconic, beautiful and maybe the most known Hollywood Stars of the 20th century. Born and raised in Los Angeles, USA, she spe...
Silver Gelatin, Black and White
Shoeshine Sign in a Southern Town
By Walker Evans
Located in New York, NY
Gelatin silver print, printed 1974 From the portfolio ""Walker Evans: Selected Photographs," 1974 Signed and notated "AP" on front border
Silver Gelatin