Farm Security Administration
A United States government programme of the 1930s and 40s that commissioned photographers to document rural poverty during the Depression.
Measured in
count
In depth
The project produced roughly 175,000 negatives, now public domain, and established the model for state-funded social documentary. It also raises the genre's central questions: the photographs were made to build political support for federal policy, which makes them simultaneously invaluable records and instruments of persuasion.
Examples in practice
The programme's archive remains freely accessible and is still among the most-consulted photographic collections in existence.