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[Subway Passengers], 1938
Walker Evans (American, 1903–1975)
Gelatin silver print; 4 13/16 x 5 15/16 in. (12.2 x 15 cm)
Gift of Arnold H. Crane, 1971 (1971.646.18)

Inspired by the incisive realism of Honoré Daumier's Third-Class Carriage (29.100.129), Walker Evans sought to avoid the vanity, sentimentality, and artifice of conventional studio portraiture. The subway series, he later said, was "my idea of what a portrait ought to be: anonymous and documentary and a straightforward picture of mankind."


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    [Subway Passengers], 1938
    Walker Evans (American, 1903–1975)
    Gelatin silver print; 4 13/16 x 5 15/16 in. (12.2 x 15 cm)
    Gift of Arnold H. Crane, 1971 (1971.646.18)