Coney Island, Depression Girl with Safety Pin
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
Sidney Kerner joined the Photo League, a cooperative of New York photographers committed to socially conscious images, in 1937, when he was just seventeen years old. The following year, he captured the harsh realities of life during the Great Depression in this image taken at Coney Island. The economic hardship reflected in the girl’s tattered and ill-fitting clothing is paralleled by the run-down nature of her surroundings.
Caption
Sidney Kerner (American, 1920–2013). Coney Island, Depression Girl with Safety Pin, 1938. Gelatin silver print, sheet/image: 8 x 6 1/4in. (20.3 x 15.9cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the artist, 1995.128.6. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Artist
Title
Coney Island, Depression Girl with Safety Pin
Date
1938
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Classification
Dimensions
sheet/image: 8 x 6 1/4in. (20.3 x 15.9cm)
Signatures
Signed verso lower left in graphite: "Sidney Kerner"
Inscriptions
Inscribed verso in graphite: "Coney Island 1938", "43"
Credit Line
Gift of the artist
Accession Number
1995.128.6
Have information?
Have information about an artwork? Contact us at