Margaret Bourke-White (American, 1904-1971) At the Time of the Louisville Flood, Louisville, Kentucky, 1937 Gelatin silver print, printed 2005 8-3/4 x 12 inches (22.2 x 30.5 cm) (image) 11 x 14 inches (sheet) Embossed with photographer's signature and editioned PP4 in ink, lower margin recto. From an edition of 50 with 5 printer's proofs. Life Gallery of Photography Limited Edition stamp and Margaret Bourke-White Estate stamp, verso. Published by LIFE Gallery of Photography and Time Inc. in association with the Estate of Margaret Bourke-White. This lot is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from the LIFE Gallery of Photography and the Estate of Margaret Bourke-White. PROVENANCE: LIFE Gallery of Photography, New York; Monroe Gallery of Photography, Santa Fe, New Mexico; Current owner, acquired from the above, 2007. EXHIBITED: Monroe Gallery of Photography, Santa Fe, New Mexico, "Women Who Shot the 20th Century," April 13-June 30, 2007. In the midst of the Great Depression, January of 1937 was especially unkind to the people of Louisville, Kentucky. That winter, the banks of the Ohio River overflowed, flooding the city and surrounding areas. Almost four hundred people lost their lives, and another million were displaced by what remains to this day the area's most severe flooding event on record. On assignment for Life magazine, Margaret Bourke-White captured the present image, an iconic and powerful depiction of the gap between the American Dream and the American Reality. Seeking basic necessities like fresh water, Black Americans stand in line outside of a flood relief agency beneath a billboard for the National Manufacturer's Association, almost cruel in its irony as it touts the alleged prosperity of the nation. Despite this, the expressions of those in line are not of complete hopelessness, as would perhaps be expected. Certainly exhausted and overwhelmed by the addition of one disaster on top of another, an air of strength remains, a determination to carry on, to rebuild Louisville. Bourke-White captured other angles of this aid line, in which some people can be seen talking and laughing, hinting at a more optimistic outlook for the city and its future. HID03101062020 © 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved