Collection Online
On the bowery, New York City
Medium
gelatin silver photograph
Measurements
12.0 × 17.0 cm (image) 12.5 × 17.8 cm (sheet)
Place/s of Execution
New York, New York, United States
Inscription
inscribed (vertically) in pencil on reverse c.r.: 2835
inscribed (inverted) in pencil on reverse l.r.: 2835
photocopy on accompanying paper label: 2835 New York City Feb. 1912. / On the Bowery.
Accession Number
PH11-1978
Department
International Photography
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1978
Public domain
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Daryl and Anne Whinney
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work

The belief in photography as a medium of truth was an underlying force in early social documentary photography. In the nineteenth century, activists, social reformers and lobbyists began to use the so called ‘unimpeachable eye’ of the camera to support and, in some instances, make the case for social change.