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American Culture and the Photographic Image, 1918-1941

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American Culture and the Photographic Image, 1918-1941 Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1991 Changing Eyes: American Culture and the Photographic Image, 1918-1941. Melissa A. Mceuen Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Mceuen, Melissa A., "Changing Eyes: American Culture and the Photographic Image, 1918-1941." (1991). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 5132. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/5132 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMl films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely afiect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. UMI University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North! Zeeb Road. Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800/521-0600 Reproduced with) permission of thie copyrigfit owner. Furtfier reproduction profiibited witfiout permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Order Number 0200075 Changing eyes: American culture and the photographic image, 1 0 1 8 -1 0 4 1 McEuen, Melissa A., Ph.D. The Louiaiana State University and Agricnltnral and Mechanical CoL, 1991 Copyright ©1992 by McEuen, Melissa A. A ll rights reserved. UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Aibor, M I 48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PLEASE NOTE The original document received by U.M.I. contained pages with indistinct print. Pages were filmed as received. This reproduction is the best available copy. University Microfilms International Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHANGING EYES: AMERICAN CULTURE AND THE PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE, 1918-1941 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of History by Melissa A. McEuen B.A. magna cum laude, Georgetown College, 1983 M.A., Louisiana State University, 1986 May 1991 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. FOR MY FAMILY 1 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS After spending thousands of hours in a small room, I completed what I had considered a solitary struggle with words and pictures and ideas. However, when I looked back at the whole experience (which began several years ago), I realized it had been not at all a lone effort, but one made possible by the encouragement and help of many people. I welcome the opportunity, finally, to thank them. A number of cooperative and patient archivists, curators, and staff members made the research tasks both pleasant and rewarding. I am grateful to: James "Andy" Anderson and David Horvath, of the University of Louisville Photographic Archives; Shannon Wilson, archivist in the Special Collections at Berea College, and Liz Webb, of the college's Art Department; Wendy Shadwell, of the New York Historical Society's Print Room; Mary Frances Morrow, of the National Archives; Michael Grimes, of the Archives of American Art; Kenneth W. Duckett, director of Special Collections at the University of Oregon; and Carolyn A. Davis, director of the George Arents Research Library at Syracuse University. Therese Thau Heyman, senior curator of prints and photographs at the Oakland Museum, offered many helpful suggestions concerning Dorothea Lange's early life; Amy Doherty, senior archivist at the George Arents Research Library, introduced me to a vast world of women in photography and scholars in photographic studies; and Ken Heger, of the National Archives, gave me detailed iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. instructions on how not to get lost in Record Group 69. On a number of occasions (and usually on short notice), Steve Candler and his staff at the LSÜ Media Production Center, made slides, produced negatives, and enlarged photographs for me. I extend special thanks to Beverly Brannan, curator of photographs at the Library of Congress — we have discussed ideas, traded manuscripts, and shared many great stories about women who chose photography as a profession. Through it all, we have become friends. I was fortunate to have received financial support for the project through the Warrick Memorial Scholarship and the T. Harry Williams Fellowship in History. While I crossed the country on the research trek, friends and family members willingly opened their homes to me. I appreciate the hospitality shown by Sheri and Sean Mestan, Cindy and Andy Chesley, Makio and Dana Kawata, and Kathleen and Kym Arcuri. My fellow card-players took me away from books and notes and manuscript pages for a few hours every weekend. They kept me sane, as did five other very loving and supportive friends — Maureen Baker, Kathy Hill, Mary Jane Smith, Helen Walther, and Morris Witten. I thank my committee members — Robert Becker, Gaines Foster, Sally Graham, and John Henderson — for their time and their talents. They made numerous suggestions for improving the manuscript, and they challenged me to think more critically and to write more clearly. I remain grateful, as always, for the privilege of working with Burl iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Noggle. His guidance and patience have sustained me throughout a long, and sometimes difficult, graduate school career. I appreciate his constant yet subtle encouragement, and am thankful for the inspiration of his example. My family provided unending support. My brother put his own work on hold while I "borrowed" his computer. My mother and father welcomed back not the wide-eyed college freshman who had left their house ten years before, but an independent, opinionated, and often temperamental, scholar. For the past year, their quiet Kentucky home has been my haven. Their encouragement has been immeasurable, and for it I will be eternally grateful. And finally, I wish to thank Joe Baker, whose mere presence has made all the difference in the world. V Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication....................................... il Acknowledgments.................................. iii Table of Contents................................ vi Photograph Credits............................... vii Abstract......................................... viii Introduction..................................... xi PART I. INDIVIDUAL POWER AND SURVIVAL OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT One. VIEWS FROM THE UPPER EAST SIDE......... 1 AN ESSAY IN PHOTOGRAPHS................ 60 Two. VIEWS FROM THE LOWER EAST SIDE......... 70 AN ESSAY IN PHOTOGRAPHS................ 123 PART II. THE DICTATES OF FORM: INFLUENCE OF THE EXTERNAL Three. INDUSTRIE VIVANTE: A PHOTOGRAPHIC MISSION.............................. 136 AN ESSAY IN PHOTOGRAPHS................ 195 Four. FROM OLD TO NEW: TRANSATLANTIC REBIRTH. 207 AN ESSAY IN PHOTOGRAPHS................ 253 PART III. "NOT I BUT WE": COLLECTIVE STRENGTH AS CULTURAL IDEAL Five. TO GIVE THE PEOPLE THEIR DUE: STRIKING A BALANCE........................... 265 AN ESSAY IN PHOTOGRAPHS................ 342 Epilogue......................................... 352 A Bibliographical Note........................... 355 Bibliography..................................... .359 Appendix: Using Photographs as Historical Evidence. 377 Vita............................................. 383 Approval Sheets.................................
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