Bob Butterfield c. 1930s

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portrait image

charcoal drawing

charcoal art

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portrait head and shoulder

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portrait drawing

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digital portrait

"Bob Butterfield" is a poignant black and white photograph taken by the renowned social documentary photographer Lewis Hine, circa 1930s. The photograph, part of Hine's extensive body of work documenting American labor, portrays a working-class man, presumably a factory worker, standing in front of an industrial machine. The image captures a sense of dignity and resilience in the face of hardship, characteristics that define Hine's photographic style. The photograph's intimate scale and sharp focus on the subject's face emphasize the individual human experience within the broader context of industrial labor. Hine's work, like this photograph, helped to raise awareness of the social and economic conditions faced by American workers during the early 20th century.

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minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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Lewis Hine was a documentary photographer, educator, and social reformer. Trained in sociology, Hine taught at the progressive Ethical Culture School in New York City before turning his attention to photography. As a photographer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC), Hine traveled the United States to document children in unsafe working conditions in factories, mines, fields, and city streets. Over ten years, he created an indelible record of the human cost of an exploitative labor market, documenting the tired faces of children at the end of their shifts, or even children mutilated by industrial machinery. These disturbing photographs were used in publications and presentations created by Hine and the NCLC, and ultimately promoted sweeping policy changes designed to protect children.