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Lewis Hine Pictures America

Explore the work of Lewis Wickes Hine — the “father of documentary photography” — whose artistic photos exposed the harsh realities faced by immigrants, children, and the working class in their everyday lives during the early decades of the twentieth century.

Comprising over 70 rare vintage photographs from the private collection of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg, this exhibition includes some of Hine’s most famous images of newly arrived immigrants at Ellis Island, children at work, the steel industry in Pittsburgh, and the construction of the Empire State Building.

A trained sociologist and educator, Hine taught at New York’s Ethical Culture School, a proponent of progressive education. In 1905, Hine took his students to Ellis Island, putting a human face on the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” In 1907, Hine joined the Pittsburgh Survey, a socioeconomic analysis of the city. His photographs, combined with reports from seventy investigators, exposed the harsh living and working conditions in the modern industrial city and became an important tool to raise public awareness and influence social reform.

Lewis Hine Pictures America is organized by art2art Circulating Exhibitions, LLC

Program Information

Lewis Hine Pictures America

Dates: February 21, 2026 - May 17, 2026
Location: The Frick Art Museum
Admission:

Tickets on sale Winter 2026

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Gallery

Browse through a few of the photographs on display in Lewis Hine Pictures America.

(Header) Lewis Wickes Hine, American, 1874–1940. Powerhouse Mechanic, 1920-21. Gelatin silver print, 10 x 7.5 in. (25.4 x 19 cm).

Lewis Wickes Hine, American, 1874-1940. Powerhouse Mechanic, 1920-21. Gelatin silver print, 10 x 7.5 in. (25.4 x 19 cm).
Lewis Wickes Hine, American, 1874-1940. Powerhouse Mechanic, 1920-21. Gelatin silver print, 10 x 7.5 in. (25.4 x 19 cm).
Lewis Wickes Hine, American, 1874-1940. Sadie, a cotton mill spinner, Lancaster, South Carolina, 1908. Gelatin silver print, 10.75 x 13.75 in. (27.3 x 34.9 cm).
Lewis Wickes Hine, American, 1874-1940. Sadie, a cotton mill spinner, Lancaster, South Carolina, 1908. Gelatin silver print, 10.75 x 13.75 in. (27.3 x 34.9 cm).
Lewis Wickes Hine, American, 1874-1940. The Madonna of Ellis Island (Russian family), ca. 1905. Gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 in. (50.8 x 40.6 cm).
Lewis Wickes Hine, American, 1874-1940. The Madonna of Ellis Island (Russian family), ca. 1905. Gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 in. (50.8 x 40.6 cm).
Lewis Wickes Hine, American, 1874-1940. German steel worker, Pittsburgh, ca. 1908. Gelatin silver print, 4.5 x 6.75 in. (11.4 x 17.1 cm).
Lewis Wickes Hine, American, 1874-1940. German steel worker, Pittsburgh, ca. 1908. Gelatin silver print, 4.5 x 6.75 in. (11.4 x 17.1 cm).
Lewis Wickes Hine, American, 1874-1940. Scrublady, New York, 1920. Gelatin silver print, 7 x 5 in. (17.7 x 12.7 cm).
Lewis Wickes Hine, American, 1874-1940. Scrublady, New York, 1920. Gelatin silver print, 7 x 5 in. (17.7 x 12.7 cm).
Lewis Wickes Hine, American, 1874-1940. Topping the mast, Empire State Building, 1930. Gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 in. (50.8 x 40.6 cm).
Lewis Wickes Hine, American, 1874-1940. Topping the mast, Empire State Building, 1930. Gelatin silver print, 20 x 16 in. (50.8 x 40.6 cm).

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