Untitled (Washington, D.C.)

Close up of Untitled (Washington, D.C.)

Candid street-scene photograph of a dark-skinned man wearing a WWII era military uniform. He gazes up and the his left, his left arm raised as he casually holds on to a lamp post with a "No Parking" sign attached to it.
Candid street-scene photograph of a dark-skinned man wearing a WWII era military uniform. He gazes up and the his left, his left arm raised as he casually holds on to a lamp post with a "No Parking" sign attached to it.
Esther Bubley, Untitled (Washington, D.C.), 1943; Gelatin silver print, 9 x 8 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Jill and Jeffrey Stern; © Jean Bubley; Photo by Lee Stalsworth

During America’s golden age of photojournalism, freelance photographer Esther Bubley cast her discerning eye over a broad range of subjects. Mentored by Roy Stryker, manager of the Farm Security Administration’s documentary photography program during the Great Depression, Bubley first chronicled American life during World War II.

Stryker encouraged Bubley to take photographs in her free time. Not knowing how to drive a car, she limited herself to documenting neighborhoods in the Washington, D.C., area. In this image, she captured a candid moment on a sidewalk. The two men in uniform represent the war effort in the United States at that time.

Bubley strove to give a human face to each story she covered, yet many of her images convey an ironic tone and suggest the momentous social changes that were developing in mid-20th-century America. She later photographed worldwide for clients including the Standard Oil Company, UNICEF, Life, and Ladies’ Home Journal.

Artwork Details

  • Artist

    Esther Bubley

  • Title

    Untitled (Washington, D.C.)

  • Date

    1943

  • Medium

    Gelatin silver print

  • Dimensions

    9 x 8 in.

  • Donor Credit

    Gift of Jill and Jeffrey Stern

  • Photo Credit

    Lee Stalsworth

  • On Display

    No

The Artist, Esther Bubley

Esther Bubley was a photojournalist renowned for her revealing images of the United States and its people in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s.
A black-and-white photograph of a light-skinned young woman with medium-length dark hair and thick bangs. She is depicted standing outdoors in front of a building. She wears a coat and holds a large camera.