See the Work
Where to experience Arthur Rothstein's photographs in person, and resources to learn more
Permanent Collections
Institutions holding Arthur Rothstein's original prints and negatives, plus the public-domain archive these images are drawn from.
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
The Prints & Photographs Division holds the FSA/OWI collection — thousands of Arthur Rothstein's Depression-era photographs. All are in the public domain and available online.
Browse OnlineLibrary of Congress
Washington, D.C.
Holds Rothstein's Resettlement Administration and FSA negatives and prints, including his Dust Bowl, steer-skull, Gee's Bend, and Shenandoah work, in the public-domain FSA/OWI collection.
Learn MoreMuseum of Fine Arts, Houston
Houston, Texas
Holds prints of Rothstein's photographs, including work from his FSA years such as the South Dakota Badlands skull image.
Learn MoreInternational Center of Photography
New York City
Holds material relating to Rothstein within its collections and archives documenting twentieth-century photojournalism and documentary photography.
Learn MoreMajor Exhibitions
Notable retrospectives and exhibitions of Arthur Rothstein's work.
A Lens on FDR's New Deal: Photographs by Arthur Rothstein, 1935-1945
Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute, Hunter College, New York
An exhibition drawn from Rothstein's recently rediscovered, unrealized project organizing his New Deal-era picture stories; it opened in October 2019 and was later presented online.
Altered Images: 150 Years of Posed and Manipulated Documentary Photography
Bronx Documentary Center, New York
A survey of staged and manipulated documentary photography that featured Rothstein's 1936 South Dakota steer-skull series as a key case study in the ethics of documentary practice.
Books & Films About Arthur Rothstein
Essential resources for understanding Arthur Rothstein's life and work.
Essential Reading
Rothstein's influential textbook on the practice and principles of photojournalism, drawn from his years in the field and at Look magazine; it went through several editions.
A Dover collection of Rothstein's own selection of his FSA-era photographs, presenting his Depression documentary work in his own arrangement.
Rothstein's reflections on photojournalism and the relationship between text and image in documentary and editorial photography.
A comprehensive examination of documentary photography as a genre, published shortly after Rothstein's death; a standard text on the form.
Online Resources
Explore the Archive
Browse 1474 Arthur Rothstein photographs from the Library of Congress.
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