Documenting the Face of America: Roy Stryker and the FSA/OWI Photographers brings to life the remarkable stories behind the legendary group of New Deal—sponsored photographers who traversed the country in the 1930s and early 1940s to capture some of the most iconic images in history. Narrated by Julian Bond, the documentary explores the personal visions and struggles experienced by such photographers as Gordon Parks, Dorothea Lange and Russell Lee as they sought to encapsulate the tumultuous essence of the times into their work of art. Brought together by government bureaucrat Roy Stryker, the photographers would end up fulfilling his vision of capturing the hardships faced by people who were often dismissed or abandoned, while still managing to show them as respectable human beings. From 1935 to 1943, these artists changed not only the course of photography, but also the way Americans related to the plight of their fellow Americans. Published in newspapers and magazines from coast to coast, their powerful images helped transform popular opinion and demonstrated the incredible impact that photographers could make through their art form.

Behind the Scenes

This unlikely group of photographers and artists was brought together by a fiery prairie populist and government bureaucrat named Roy Stryker. His vision of sending some of America’s most talented photographers out into the countryside in a government–sponsored project drew ire from the conservatives in Congress and praise from the general public. What they captured, for the first time, was a complete picture of their countrymen in the context of a national identity. As Stryker would later comment, "Our photographers had one thing in common, and that was a deep respect for human beings."

But the photographs were controversial and the agency under constant attack. At one point, the collection was under threat of destruction by the conservative congressional opponents of the time, who considered the photographs—which portrayed the heartbreak of the Dust Bowl era all the way through the forced relocation of Japanese–Americans at the outset of WWII—propaganda. Today, this vast collection of more than 160,000 photographs, many never before seen by the public, remains hauntingly relevant.

From 1935 to 1943, these artists changed not only the course of photography, but also the way Americans related to the plight of their countrymen. Published in newspapers and magazines from coast to coast, their powerful images helped transform popular opinion in a way that words and speeches never could. Highlighting the forgotten pieces of America’s collective history, Documenting the Face of America: Roy Stryker and the FSA/OWI Photographers features on–camera interviews with FSA photographers Gordon Parks, Rondal Partridge and Louise Rosskam; acclaimed historians and scholars, including Pulitzer Prize–winning author David Kennedy and F. Jack Hurley; and oral histories. "If you could get all the work that Stryker was responsible for, you would see the face of America in the 1930s and 1940s that nobody has ever seen together," said the late Gordon Parks.

The film is an opportunity to revisit an important time in the nation’s collective history in a deeply personal way and to inspire a new generation of documentary photographers to build on the traditions and passions of their predecessors: to continue to confront questions of truth with the camera.

Featured Participants and Photographers

Gordon Parks (1912–2006) — Photographer, musician, poet, novelist, journalist, activist and film director

David Kennedy — Pulitzer Prize–winning historian, Stanford University

Jack Hurle — Historian, author of Portrait of a Decade, Roy Stryker and the FSA/OWI Photographers

William Christenberry — Photographer, painter and sculptor

Louise Rosskam — FSA/OWI photographer

Beverly Brannon — Curator, Prints and Photographs Division of the Library of Congress

Sally Stein — Art historian, University of California, Irvine

Bernarda Shahn — Artist and widow of artist and FSA photographer Ben Shahn

Rondal Patridge — Photographer

Roy Emerson Stryker — Director of the historical unit for the FSA/OWI

Roy Stryker Biography

Born in Colorado in 1893, Roy Emerson Stryker fought in Europe during World War I and returned to the U.S. to attend Columbia University, where he became an assistant professor of economics. Known for his lively lectures and the use of photographs to illustrate abstract economic ideas, Stryker was called to Washington, D.C., in 1932 to head the Information Division of the Resettlement Administration (later called the Farm Security Administration), a New Deal program designed as a relocation program for poor farmers. During this time, Stryker launched one of the largest government–funded documentary photography projects in U.S. history. After leaving the government in 1942, Stryker went on to amass another incredible collection of photographs for the Standard Oil Corporation. His personal collection of papers and photographs is held by the University of Louisville, Special Collections Unit.