Hope in Hard Times: New Deal Photographs of Montana, 1936-1942

by Mary Murphy

In the 1930s and 1940s, four Farm Security Administration photographers were detailed to Montana to document the effects of the Depression on the state. The four--Arthur Rothstein, Marion Post Wolcott, Russell Lee, and John Vachon--captured the many facets of the Depression in rural and urban, agricultural and industrial, work and play, and hard times and the promise of a brighter future.
Taken by men and women who became some of America's best-known photographers, the photographs of Rothstein, Wolcott, Lee, and Vachon are both stunning pieces of art and important historical documents. Today these striking images present an unforgettable portrait of a little-studied period in the history of Montana. Selected from the FSA Collection at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., the photographs in Hope in Hard Times offer viewers an unparalleled look at life in Montana in the years preceding the United States' entry into World War II.

Genres: Photography, History

160 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 2003

About the author

Mary Murphy is the co-founder, managing director and owner of FullCycle, an eco business in Noordhoek, Cape Town, owned and managed by women. She is a committed environmental activist and educator who consequently became a businesswoman. She is currently studying towards her PhD in environmental education at Rhodes University.

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased this book as a text for an American History course at Montana State University, taught by Mary Murphy, the book's author. Funny how you enjoy "textbooks" more after the class is over and you have time to read for content. Hope in Hard Times is not only a gathering of photographs and stories that shed light on the experiences of Montana families and FDR's New Deal programs, although it certainly does that. It is also the story of the four gifted photographers who chronicled this period and their experiences dealing with the towns and farms, the curiosity, the search for hope and occasionally the hostility. There is great poignant beauty to the photos and strength in the prose. There was struggle, but little evidence of despair. All in all, a wonderful book.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an amazing window into the lives of people in Eastern Montana who suffered through the drought of the depression, got beaten under, but survived again and again. The photographs are very telling and mostly taken by young people in their twenties! Very easy scanning with brief narratives.