Louise Boyle facts for kids
Louise Boyle (born February 17, 1910 – died December 31, 2005) was an American photographer. She is famous for her powerful pictures that showed how the Great Depression affected farm workers, especially African Americans, in the Southern United States.
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Who Was Louise Boyle?
Louise Boyle was born in 1910 in Grand Forks, North Dakota. She was one of two daughters. When she was eight, her family moved to Ithaca, New York. She lived there for most of her life. She went to Ithaca High School and later graduated from Vassar College.
Her Early Life and Photography
After college, Louise Boyle studied photography in New York City. She then opened her own business in Ithaca. She took commercial photos and portraits of people. One of her first big projects was taking pictures of coal miners in Pennsylvania. These photos were for a magazine called Survey Graphic.
Documenting the Great Depression
Louise Boyle was part of a group of young people who wanted to help others. They volunteered with the Southern Tenant Farmers Union (SFTU). This union helped farmers who struggled during the Great Depression.
In 1937, she was asked to photograph the lives of SFTU members in Arkansas. These were often tenant farmers who rented land and paid with a share of their crops. Boyle used a Leica camera to capture their daily lives. Her photos showed farmers and their families working in the fields. They also showed them at home and at union meetings.
Life with Tenant Farmers
Boyle's pictures showed the huge difficulties these Southern farmers faced. This was especially true for African Americans. Her work was similar to other famous photographers of that time, like Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange. They all showed the harsh realities of the Depression.
But Boyle's photos also captured something special. They showed the strong community spirit among the farmers and union organizers. They worked together to help each other. Many years later, in 1982, Boyle went back to photograph some of the same people and places.
Boyle also worked as an editor for the Cornell University Press for a while. A collection of her photographs is kept at the Kheel Center at Cornell University. These photos are part of their collection about the SFTU.
Louise Boyle passed away in Ithaca on the last day of 2005.
What Her Photos Show
Louise Boyle often focused on African Americans in her work. She showed how they kept going through the tough times of the Great Depression. Her photos often highlight ideas of working together and sharing struggles.
Her pictures show how Southern African Americans came together. They worked to build a better future for everyone. Many of her photos show people picking cotton. Others show them working for unions or simply living their daily lives at home.
