Bourke-White, Margaret (1906-1971) was perhaps the most famous female photographer although Dorothea Lange (1895-1965) was probably more talented. She was the first photographer hired by Life magazine in 1936 and she did the magazine's first cover, "Fort Peck Dam." Like her much less famous contemporary, Tina Modotti, she was concerned with the plight of exploited laberors and visited Russia. She was a rabid feminist before there were such things, but with her husband, the famed novelist, Erskind Caldwell, (1903-1987) she made alarming pictures in the South which were made into a book. Her special talent lay in industrial
pictures and before World War Two, she photographed the Krupp
steel plant in Germany and many construction projects. During
the war she photographed the siege of Moscow, but not before her
ship had been sunk. In 1945 at the end of the war, she made
startling pictures of survivors of the Nazi concentration camps.
She published several books including the 1937
You Have Seen Their Faces and
the 1941 Say, Is This the USA. In
1929 she also made industrial photos for Fortune magazine.
Estimated basic value:
$4200
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