An Albanian Woman from Italy at Ellis Island (Primary Title)
At Ellis Island (Former Title)
Lewis W. Hine, American, 1874 - 1940 (Artist)
One of Hine’s objectives in his Ellis Island project was to document the appearance of immigrants in the United States. Nativistic accounts in the popular press featured abhorrent depictions of disease-ridden, deformed, and degenerate arrivals. In contrast, Hines attempted to cast these new immigrants as contemporary versions of 17th-century Pilgrims. The young woman dressed in Old World clothing sits calmly before the photographer, belying the commotion around her. “At times the Island looked like a costume ball with the multicolored, many-styled national costumes,” Hine observed.
Black ink stamp on verso: "Lewis W. Hine / Interpretaive Photography / Hastings-on-Hudson, New York"
"Italian from Albania Ellis Island (1904)"; "Credit: the Lewis W Hine Memorial Collection - Photo League"; "0A17458" and "200" inscribed in graphite by unknown hand(s) on verso. "55" with circle inscribed in ink by unknown hand on verso.
Virginia Museum Art Purchase Fund
The Likeness of Labor, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, October 17, 2015 - April 10, 2016
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
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