Guggenheim 700--Butte, Montana and Casper, Wyoming 1956

This is a black and white photograph by Robert Frank, titled "Guggenheim 700—Butte, Montana and Casper, Wyoming." Frank was a Swiss-American photographer known for his raw and often bleak depictions of American life, and here we see a contact sheet—an index of images taken from a roll of 35mm film—displaying various scenes in both Guggenheim, Butte, Montana and Casper, Wyoming. The Guggenheim name connects the roll to the Guggenheim Foundation which awarded him a grant that allowed him to travel across the United States and capture images of everyday life. These images speak to the country's social fabric and political climate of the time; with themes of racial segregation, economic disparity, and cultural alienation. To understand more, we can delve into Frank's personal history, the Guggenheim Foundation's role in supporting artistic endeavors, and of course the socio-political context of 1950s America.