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Peace, an Ellis Island Madonna by Lewis Hine
  • Peace, an Ellis Island Madonna, 1905
  • Lewis Hine
  • Black and white photographic print, 11.0"x9.0"
  • Archives of American Art
  • Elizabeth McCausland Papers, 1877-1960
  • Image No. AAA_mccaeliz_12579

Lewis Hine was one of many photographers who documented the living conditions of immigrants interned on Ellis Island. His style, which proved both instrumental and influential, came to be known as “documentary,” a term acknowledging his ability to create images that seemed to bear the status of fact. Hine’s photographs were published widely in both reform and popular journals, and while today they are admired for aesthetic reasons, at the time the images stirred sympathy for the often-reviled newcomers by imbuing them with feelings and humanity. According to Hine, this photograph was taken "on a day when twelve thousand were crowding through the place."

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