46

Lewis W. Hine

(1874-1940)

A selection of 16 photographs from the Tennessee Valley Authority documenting construction of new electric homes, including 4 by Hine. 1933-34.

Silver prints.
The images documenting the original and new homes and their residents in Norris, Tennessee, a scene in the cafeteria in the Morris Dam construction camp (a TVA project), and the interior of a new community building. Each with a Brown Bros. stamp, some with a label, and each with a caption or additional notations in pencil, on verso.
The images 4 3/8 x 5 5/8 in. (11.1 x 14.3 cm.) to 6 5/8 x 8 1/2 in. (16.8 x 21.6 cm.), and the reverse, the sheets slightly larger

  • Provenance: There are four prints credited to Hine in this group, all from 1933:
    Mrs. Sarah J. Wilson has lived ninety-one years on a farm near Bulls Gap, Tennessee. She is still very active and resourceful. She is a fine example of the vitality and industry found in this old Tennessee stock. * The home of Harriet Hankins in the area of the proposed town at Norris Dam. * Washday at the Stooksberry homestead near Andersonville, Tennessee. This old estate of 350 acres dates back to the Civil War. It will be submerged when the Norris Dam reservoir fills. This family is very versatile and carries on all kinds of activities and construction. * 'Squatter's' home on Andersonville Road, Tennessee. The house is a made-over houseboat.
  • Notes:
    In May of 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a bill creating the Tennessee Valley Authority, an independent agency of the federal government, to improve agriculture, control flooding, and provide cheap electricity for the seven-state region.

    Hine, whose pioneering, socially concerned work helped established the field of documentary photography, was hired to document life in the region. He sought to persuasively depict the Depression-era conditions of rural farming communities that lived in this region and the people that would be displaced by the creation of a new dam. The images Hine made for the TVA also documented the beginning phases of dam construction and workers at the Kingsport Press and in the Civilian Conservation Corps, but apparently the scenes were criticized by the Chairman as "too creative" and Hine's tenure lasted only one month.
  • Condition:
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January 29, 2026 12:00 PM EST
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