Artelia Bendolph at her cabin window
photograph by Arthur Rothstein, 1937
Reproduction photographic print
5 x 7 inches
000-01

A faithful reproduction of the celebrated image of Artelia Bendolph at her Grandfather's cabin window, by Arthur Rothstein, 1937, Gee's Bend Alabama.

Artelia Bendolph was the first cousin of Essie Bendolph Pettway's  father.

Click Here to view the available work of Essie Bendolph Pettway

This image is made from a scan of the original film and printed on archival paper with archival inks. / Image size: 5x7"

Arthur Rothstein's photography served as a powerful medium for documenting social conditions and fostering public awareness of inequality in rural Alabama. Employed by the United States government, he photographed Artelia Bendolph in Gee's Bend. This image is one of several important photographs Rothstein produced to document the social and economic disparities that characterized the region. His work helped draw the attention of Congress to the severe conditions faced by tenant farmers and sharecroppers in 1937.

The resulting, Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenancy Act was a significant New Deal-era federal law designed to alleviate rural poverty, reduce high rates of farm tenancy, and rehabilitate depleted agricultural lands. Signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the act expanded federal efforts to assist struggling tenant farmers, sharecroppers, and farm laborers through government-backed loans that enabled many to purchase their own farms. The legislation also strengthened the role of the Farm Security Administration (FSA) in addressing rural economic hardship.

Artelia Bendolph's solemn expression serves as a powerful visual representation of the hardships associated with rural poverty and marginalization. The composition further reinforces these themes through the inclusion of the weathered cabin window and newspaper insulation, whose advertisements for consumer goods and food products underscore the disparity between the promises of economic recovery and the actual experiences of impoverished communities. Together, these elements highlight the persistent social and economic challenges faced by many Americans during a period of uneven national recovery.

Original source / film negative archive: Library of Congress