Close No. 157, Bridgegate

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Close No. 157, Bridgegate

Artist Thomas Annan (Scottish | British, 1829-1887)

Date1877

DimensionsImage: 11 1/8 x 9 1/4 in. (28.2 x 23.5 cm);
Mount: 11 3/8 x 9 1/4 in. (28.8 x 23.5 cm)

MediumCarbon print

ClassificationPhotographs

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. W. Howard Bond

Object number

1991.30

Not on View

Label TextThomas Annan was commissioned by the Glasgow City Improvement Trust in 1868 to document the city just before a scheduled renewal project. The purpose was to create an historical record of what was considered the worst slum in Great Britain. His photographic journal was perhaps the first systematic documentation of life in a slum and, therefore, one of the first instances of ‘social photography’. It was with great surprise that the images became very popular with the local population after the historic streets and cul-de-sacs had been demolished and new structures built. Social photography (images made to document a prejudice, injustice, inequality, poverty, etc.) became a powerful tool for social reform in the early 20th century. In the United States, Jacob A. Riis (1849–1914), documented the horrific living conditions for the poor in New York City. His advocacy led to housing reforms. The images of small children working at massive looms in the fabric industry taken by Lewis Hine (1874–1940), who worked for the National Child Labor Committee between 1906 and 1918, led to the reform of child-labor laws.Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, Refraction/Reflection, April 20-September 2, 2012.