New Deal Photographs of West Virginia, 1934-1943 by Betty Rivard (review)

New Deal Photographs of West Virginia, 1934-1943 beautifully presents Depression-era images of West Virginia's northern and southern coalfields, federal resettlement projects, industries such as manufacturing and logging, and daily life in cities and towns across the state. During the years between 1934 and 1943, photographers documented life in regions of West Virginia for the Farm Security Administration (FSA) project. The FSA project, which extended across the United States, showed the achievements of New Deal programs in response to the distress caused by the Great Depression as well as the day-to-day life of people in small towns and rural areas. The images that resulted became the Farm Security Administration-Office of War Information (FSA-OWI) Collection held at the Library of Congress.

Betty Rivard has compiled 150 poignant images of West Virginia from the FSA-OWI Collection and enriched them with compelling history and biography. Carl Fleischhauer's foreword gives an overview of the history of the FSA-OWI Collection and affirms Rivard's substantial research. An essay by historian Jerry Bruce Thomas effectively condenses the history of the Depression and New Deal in West Virginia and provides appropriate context for the photographs and the photographers included in the book.

Rivard's careful selection of images is immediately apparent. New Deal Photographs of West Virginia includes everyday scenes and some landscape shots, but the richest photographs display the contrasts of the time: suffering and resilience in the coalfields as well as the hope and potential of the Roosevelts' model communities. Rivard's choices make it clear that the photographers respected their subjects and had a sense that their images could have an impact. They illustrate the photographers' interest in diversity and telling the story as they saw it, despite their assignment.

The images draw the eye, but Rivard's excellent use of other primary sources adds depth. Each chapter of images is introduced by an excerpt from a letter, an oral history interview, a news column, or another archival source. These pieces offer insight into the thoughts and impressions of the FSA photographers, Eleanor Roosevelt, and government figures associated with the images. Reading these perspectives in conjunction with the photographs creates more opportunity for interpretation and enhances our understanding of the FSA project and its contributors.

Rivard focuses in on these key players in her concluding essay. She steps back to illuminate the early development of the resettlement projects in West Virginia, looking specifically at the role of Clarence Pickett and the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), a Quaker organization. The relief efforts of the AFSC and Pickett's relationship with President and Eleanor Roosevelt were vital to the creation of homestead communities and the need to document the work via photography. Rivard also chronicles Roy Stryker, chief of the Historical Section, who inspired and protected his staff, and whose vision left us with this extraordinary collection of images. The essay closes with biographical sketches of the ten photographers who came to West Virginia and what they brought to the project. Rivard nicely parallels Walker Evans and Ben Shahn, both accomplished by the time they worked on the FSA project. She also highlights the distinctive work of Marion Post Wolcott, who took one third of the West Virginia photographs in the FSA-OWI Collection. The photograph selected for the cover of the book reflects Post Wolcott's personal and honest style.

Rivard describes the legacy of the FSA project West Virginia photographs as one that documents the stories of West Virginians, contributes to the artistic culture of the state, and serves as a source of inspiration for current and future artists. Bringing the FSA-OWI Collection and its story to our attention, New Deal Photographs of West Virginia, 1934-1943 succeeds in all three areas. It is a lovely book and a worthy contribution to the history of West Virginia and the New Deal.