{"data":{"id":"5184","type":"artist","attributes":{"id":5184,"topgoose_id":3144,"tms_id":5184,"display_name":"Lewis Hine","sort_name":"Hine Lewis","display_date":"1874–1940","begin_date":"1874","end_date":"1940","biography":"\u003cp\u003eIn the early years of the twentieth century,\nLewis Hine explored the intersection\nof sociology, pedagogy, and photography.\nFollowing in the footsteps of the Danish\njournalist Jacob Riis, whose 1890 book\n\u003cem\u003eHow the Other Half Lives\u003c/em\u003e documented the\nconditions in New York slums in words\nand pictures, Hine believed photography\nto be a powerful tool for reform and the\ndemocratization of knowledge.\n\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter studying sociology and\neducation at the University of Chicago and\nColumbia University, Hine taught at New\nYork’s Ethical Culture School. In 1904\nhe began to document immigrants arriving\nat Ellis Island in photographs that\ndemonstrate their common humanity.\nHe soon became a photographer for\nnumerous charity and social work agencies,\nas well as for the Pittsburgh Survey,\na pioneering sociological investigation\nof an American industrial city.\n\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1908 Hine became a photographer\nfor the National Child Labor Committee\n(NCLC), founded in 1904 to promote\nlegislative reform. The issue of industrialized\nlabor was important to Hine, who had\nworked twelve-hour days at an upholstery\nfactory before attending the University\nof Chicago. He spent more than a\ndecade working for the NCLC, traveling\nthe eastern United States photographing\nchildren working in mills and factories.\nHe also frequently documented the\nnewsboys, or “newsies,” who sold papers\nin the street, often from the predawn\nhours until late into the night. Hine\nrecorded this image on a weekday morning,\nindicating that these children are most\nlikely not in school—which could lead,\nas the photograph of three smoking boys\ndemonstrates, to the dangers and adult\nvices of the harsh city environment.\u003c/p\u003e","on_view":false,"artport":false,"biennial":false,"collection":true,"ulan_id":"500115193","wikidata_id":"Q347194","created_at":"2017-08-31T10:23:27.000-04:00","updated_at":"2026-03-31T07:04:19.535-04:00","links":{"artworks":"/api/artists/5184/artworks","exhibitions":"/api/artists/5184/exhibitions"}}}}