4 volunteers are needed to help at the party for the final night of the Arthur Rothstein exhibit. These are always wonderful volunteer opportunities. First come, first served!
Arthur Rothstein (1915-1985) is known as one of America’s premier photojournalists. Beginning in the summer of 1935, when Rothstein was only twenty years old, he was sent on dozens of photography assignments by the federal government’s Resettlement Administration (which later became part of the Farm Security Administration or ‘FSA’). He was the first of the FSA’s team of professional photographers who traveled the country documenting the plight of Americans trying to survive the Depression years. This appointment allowed him to travel to the Florida Keys in 1938 to document the effects of the Depression. Rothstein’s remarkable and humbling photographs of spongers, cigar makers, barbers, fishermen, residents, and architecture demonstrated the frailty and the resilience of communities along the island chain.
This exhibition features 40 black-and-white images taken by Rothstein during his assignment in the Florida Keys and celebrates the centenary of his birth with a small selection of other iconic photographs from his 50-year career. It also includes several objects from the permanent collection of the Key West Art & Historical Society that augment the two-dimensional images. Visitors will have the opportunity to view cigar making equipment, sponging tools, fishing equipment and Depression-era ephemera to enhance their experience.