[File Drawer with 46 Mugshots of Shoplifters]
This wooden file drawer contains identification cards with tipped-in mug shots of forty-six mostly female shoplifters apprehended in the late 1930s and 1940s near Baltimore, Maryland. Although they were created as utilitarian instruments, the photographs survive as extraordinary visual artifacts—unvarnished portraits of individuals whose faces convey a potent blend of vulnerability, boredom, and defiance.
Artwork Details
- Title: [File Drawer with 46 Mugshots of Shoplifters]
- Artist: Unknown (American)
- Date: 1936–47
- Medium: Gelatin silver prints
- Dimensions: Each photograph, approx.: 3 × 5 in. (7.6 × 12.7 cm)
Drawer: 47 × 25.1 × 1.6 cm (18 1/2 × 9 7/8 × 5/8 in.) - Classification: Photographs
- Credit Line: The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Fund, through Joyce and Robert Menschel, 2013
- Object Number: 2013.949a–tt
- Curatorial Department: Photographs
More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
William H. Mortimer
1970
Unknown
Charles Calverley
1860s
Unknown
1860s
Unknown
1910?
Unknown
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.