Cats, gossip, and laundry — a view of Los Angeles during the Great Depression.
Seeing America – topic: city and country
An[...] interpretation of the sensations produced by the confusion of the streets. —Joseph Stella
Celebrating the modern city
When movies were new and lights transformed the darkened city streets.
Going out to the cinema in 1913 ...
Buttons, flags, and booze — Ben conjures up a specific time and place.
Politics and humanity in 1970s New York: ...
Can the commonplace working farmland of California's Sacramento River Valley be a place of of breathtaking beauty?
The landscape remade, Thiebaud’s Ponds and Streams
The gun that "won the West" also transformed American manufacturing and marketing.
Inventing America, Colt’s Experimental Pocket Pistol
According to the artist (Reginald Marsh), at Coney Island, “The best show is the people themselves.”
Cheap thrills: Coney Island during the Great ...
Captured here in paint, this grand Californian landscape would soon disappear under water.
Hetch Hetchy, Yosemite, and the battle for ...
Drought and rain govern when this work of art in Utah’s Great Salt Lake can be seen.
Transforming and honoring the environment at Spiral ...
In order to capture the beauty of America’s national parks, Brown faced the prejudices of the lawless West.
“Leave it as it is”: Yellowstone and ...
To bring “polite sociability” to the city, designers blended nature’s greatest hits into one ambitious park.
A breath of fresh air: industrialization and ...
Though often thought of as a simple image of American values, this painting resists easy interpretation.
As contested as the nation: understanding American ...
This snowy image of a bygone Brooklyn is sprinkled with farm animals, townspeople... and casual racism.
Becoming a city: daily life in 1820, ...
New York put growth ahead of all else, resulting in the loss of important historic buildings, like Penn Station.
A Landmark Decision: Penn Station and architectural ...
The Art Deco style of this skyscraper was urbane and luxurious—a swansong of glamor as the Great Depression hit.
Skyscrapers, cars, and American ambition: The Chrysler ...
Riis snapped photos of the urban poor during midnight police raids—but only because he cared.
Slums of New York: Jacob Riis and ...
Is there a political message behind this image of two farmers settling the price of a horse?
Celebrating the spirit of American enterprise, Bargaining ...
A new, modern culture of shopping and ready-made clothes were part of women’s new urban mobility.
When department stores were new: women in ...
The Southwest became a hub for artists seeking “quintessentially American” subjects beyond New York and Chicago.