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Posted by: Kristi Finefield
Contemporary photographer Carol M. Highsmith’s decades-long project to document the entire United States sent her touring the Midwest and West during the last few years. Some of the states Highsmith photographed are: Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, Nebraska, and both North and South Dakota. Thousands of those photos are now available in the Prints & Photographs …
Posted in: Photographs
Posted by: Melissa Lindberg
Whether you think black cats are spooky, good luck, or simply adorable companions, the many images featuring these striking felines in the collections are evidence that photographers and other artists have found them compelling since at least the 19th century. This photograph by Arthur Rothstein highlights the tonal contrast between the cat’s dark fur and …
Posted in: Photographs, Prints
Posted by: Kristi Finefield
In my most recent selection of railroad-related images on Flickr, All Aboard!, the photo that received the most attention was this one of the Manitou & Pike’s Peak Railway. I’m imagining the seemingly backwards and tilted locomotive drew some curiousity. This is a cog railway, used to climb steep grades. The boiler in this steam …
Posted in: Flickr, Photographs
Posted by: Melissa Lindberg
Many of us spend a considerable amount of time in the kitchen, a space that can serve both a utilitarian and a social function. The Prints & Photographs Division collections provide great images of kitchen spaces that highlight prepared food, architectural elements, and the labor that goes into ensuring our nourishment. The photograph below shows …
Posted in: Photographs, Prints
Posted by: Kristi Finefield
In my most recent Flickr album, Animals are Looking at You, twenty two animals are peering out at you from black-and-white photographs. The photos were initially selected by Office of War Information staff in 1945 for a display in the Photographic Section file room. The Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Collection (FSA/OWI) was transferred …
Posted in: Flickr, Photographs
Posted by: Kristi Finefield
One of my favorite weekly activities is a trip to the local farmers market. The bounty of fruits and vegetables, as well as other products like meat, eggs, and baked goods, offers so much potential for cooking good meals and trying new flavors. Farmers have been bringing their goods to market for thousands of years. …
Posted in: Photographs
Posted by: Melissa Lindberg
The Prints & Photographs Division’s collections include many images that feature the humble bicycle. This familiar, ingenious transportation technology appears in pictures in multiple formats, including photographs, prints, and drawings, produced across decades. This popular graphic art print showing the scene at the 1883 Bicycle Camp-Exhibition & Tournament in Springfield, Massachusetts gives a sense of …
Posted in: Drawings, Photographs, Prints
Posted by: Kristi Finefield
The Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building is one of the more ornately decorated buildings in Washington, D.C. When visitors walk into the Great Hall, they usually look up and around, taking in the painted murals, sculpted details, the colorful glass skylight, and the monumental scale of the space. Today, we will instead talk about …
Posted in: Architecture, Drawings