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this background of waste piles and coal tipples. In other words, it is a coal town and your pictures must tell it." Instead, many of Dick's photographs are interiors, bars, and images of ordinary life. Critic Collen McDannel has pointed out that, particularly in regard to his treatment of religion, Dick's work is different from most of the FSA file. Because of his composition of images of the poor surrounded by religious items and by ordinary household objects (objects not in themselves indicating poverty), Dick's photographs are less politically clear than those of the other FSA photographers. His composition "transgresses common assumptions about men and religion and therefore appears to be less 'documentary.'"
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didn't work out. He tried two or three other things for us and it didn't work." During the period of his association, however, he travelled as widely and submitted as many photographs as the full-time employees. Because Dick was not a full-time employee of the FSA, his travels are not well documented, but they can be inferred from the photographs he took. Some of the greatest concentrations of surviving images come from a few documentable trips over the two years of Dick's work:
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Henry Lester was a partner of
Willard Morgan in the early days of their book publishing. And Sheldon Dick was a rich man's son and he had a desire to do things, and I went up one time and they wanted to know if I would take Sheldon down to Washington on more or less a dollar a year, he would like to
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Dick's wealth allowed him to provide his own funding, and gave him an independence the other photographers lacked. Stryker attempted to provide some guidance for the kind of photographs he was looking for, writing to Dick, "It is terribly important that you in some way try to show the town against
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Dick worked relatively briefly for the FSA, in 1937 and 1938. He supported himself, submitting his photographs for payment of one dollar a year, but
Stryker soon terminated his work anyway. In the 1965 interview, Stryker says, "I went through twice, the pictures were lousy, just plain lousy It
165:
Dick married Mary Lee
Burgess in 1933; she would later assist in his documentary work. His first recorded activity as a photographer took place around this time, shortly after his failure in publishing; he took photographs for a book on Mexico, published in 1935. The book was not well-received,
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The shooting colored what sparse legacy his FSA work had left him. Colleen McDannell says that, because of it, "Dick was the most infamous of the FSA photographers." Stryker connects it to his sense of the pattern of Dick's life: "He shot himself, or he shot his wife, and one of the kids and
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A note on the endpaper reads, "This edition consists of 400 numbered copies, of which 365 are for sale, numbers 1 to 84 inclusive, containing holograph manuscript. The book was made under the supervision of Vrest Orton & Ray Nash, and printed at the
Marchbanks press on papier de Rives in
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Dick's film proved to be his most influential effort; it is cited in modern scholarship on the region's history, and his photographs of the miners and their families were displayed in a New York gallery to positive reviews. Film scholar
William Alexander, documenting films of the
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408:. Early on the morning of May 12 of that year, Dick telephoned the police and said, "We have just killed ourselves. Send an officer right away." Both were dead of gunshot wounds to the head when the police arrived; both shootings were ascribed to Dick.
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See the Doud interview for
Stryker's memory of this trip. Stryker mentions Dick's interest in making a film, but did not appear to know that it had been completed. None of the photographs from the tri-state trip survive in the Library of Congress's
162:, which Dick and Masters had discussed, never materialized, partly because Dick had indicated in promotional material that there would not be one. Masters biographer Herbert K. Russell blames the book's failure in part on Dick's "poor judgment."
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in 1933. It was large (8½ by 12 inches) and made with obvious attention to detail, but with some mistakes, the worst of which was the accidental binding of manuscript pages into some copies; the reception was mixed. A positive review in
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himself. He never had a chance to be himself. It was one of the worst cases I've ever known in my experience of the wealthy son who couldn't get away from it." Of course, Stryker's memory is poor, as Dick's children were unharmed.
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and many who were far less experienced, with the goal of documenting the times and the nation itself. In a 1965 interview, Stryker remembers that Dick originally was introduced to him through his contacts in the publishing world:
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One does not remember any music as such, but rather a constant sound of human voices, talking, singing, or humming. The idea of the possibility of human ascendancy over the deplorable conditions shown is thus made more
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The marriage was brief. Mrs. Dick filed for divorce in April 1932, and stated in her suit that the couple had been separated for a year. The divorce was concluded within a day, and she received custody of the child.
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86:. He was a member of a wealthy and well-connected industrialist family, and was able to support himself while funding a series of literary and artistic endeavors. He published a book by poet
343:, was released in conjunction with the Association of Documentary Film Producers in New York; Lee Dick, his wife, is credited as producer under the aegis of Dial Films. The score, by
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In 1950 Dick was married to his third wife, Elizabeth Durand Dick. After working as a literary agent in the early 1940s, he was retired (though only 44) and living in
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Dick was active as a publisher at the time, working with another minor publisher, C. Louis
Rubsamen. Only one volume bore his name as an imprint: a book of poems,
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Richard Doud, "Interview with Roy
Stryker at the Artist's home in Montrose, Colorado, January 23, 1965," Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution;
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is "affecting and powerful" through its "mind-jogging changes of stance." On
December 18, 2013, the U.S. Librarian of Congress entered the film onto the
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reported that, "Other than the 'temporary insanity' theory advanced by , investigators were unable to establish a motive for the shooting."
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on the region, but did not receive approval for the project from the FSA. Dick evidently decided to fund and direct the film himself.
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Gerald
Markowitz and David Rosner, "'The Street of Walking Death': Silicosis, Health, and Labor in the Tri-State Region, 1900-1950,"
130:. On returning to the United States, the couple lived in New York; their daughter, also named Dorothy, was born shortly thereafter.
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850:. Contains records of all of Dick's 378 surviving photographs for the FSA and digital versions of many of them. Linked directly
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area, dated "1938?." The description filed with this photograph includes the note, "Notice the Amish boy on the extreme left."
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describes the physical book as "an attractive piece of work." The book sold slowly, despite a brief spike caused by the
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710:, May 21, 1939. Devree said of the photographs, "These highly-moving documents deserve a wide audience."
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For the film, see Markowitz and Rosner. For the photographs, see Howard Devree, "A Reviewer's Notebook,"
304:(also dated "1938?"), focus on everyday activities, household living and items, and the mines themselves.
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732:"25 U.S. Films Deemed Essential to Preserve," Moving Image Archive News, posted December 20, 2013
347:(an actor), and narration included both informational and more suggestive narration; a comment by
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in Connecticut (where this photograph of a destroyed tobacco barn was taken) and Massachusetts.
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One of Dick's FSA photographs: "Man Sleeping in a Fish Market, Baltimore, Maryland," July 1938.
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This photograph of a homemade tractor came from an August, 1938 trip to FSA client farmers in
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for the FSA. Many of his photographs, like this one, are of ordinary life during the strike.
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380:, released later in 1940. The film, written and photographed by Dick and with narration by
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however, and a review states that "The group of photographs adds little to the volume."
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One of Dick's last assignments for Stryker was a trip to the mining towns surrounding
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373:, a list of American films the Librarian deems worthy of preservation in perpetuity.
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775:(San Francisco: National Film Preservation Foundation, 2006), entry #106, p. 25;
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Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Archive, Call # LC-USF34-040326-D,
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February 4, 1940. For the formal credits, see the film's entry at the
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The result was a 16½-minute documentary film, narrated by the actor
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Alan Trachtenberg, "From Image to Story: Reading the File,"
438:, September 29, 1927; "Mrs. Albert Blake Dick" (obituary),
236:, taking photographs of poor black and white neighborhoods.
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on the film's use of sound provides a useful description:
525:(Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2001), 293-294.
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That September, Dick took photographs of damage from the
697:(Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003), 25.
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Picturing Faith: Photography and the Great Depression
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In January and February 1937, Dick photographed the
672:Bosley Crowther, "Onward March the Documentaries,"
508:P. H., "A New Book of Poems by Edgar Lee Masters,"
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98:, and for the violent circumstances of his death.
36:Sheldon Dick, photographed by Janina Lester, 1939.
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122:, in 1927, shortly before Dick began studies at
376:Dick and Stewart collaborated on another film,
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324:"). He decided to return to the area to make a
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593:(New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004), 40.
300:mining towns, including this one of a bar in
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648:Film and the American Left: A Research Guide
536:Mexican Journey: An Intimate Guide to Mexico
888:Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
538:(New York: Dodge Publishing Company, 1935).
468:, April 6, 1932; "Divorces Sheldon Dick,"
451:"Dorothy Michelson Surprises by Wedding,"
18:
746:"Complete National Film Registry Listing"
693:Timothy Mangan and Irene Herrmann, eds.,
650:(Westport: Greenwood Press, 1999), 77-78.
795:"Sheldon Dick Kills Wife and Himself,"
495:Baskerville type." Edgar Lee Masters,
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614:McDannell makes this observation (39).
384:, depicts the efforts of a community
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893:Murder–suicides in the United States
903:Suicides by firearm in Connecticut
773:The Field Guide to Sponsored Films
158:review, and made no profit, and a
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280:A number of images exist of the
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878:American documentary filmmakers
661:The Journal of American History
534:Edith Mackie and Sheldon Dick,
663:, Vol. 77, No. 2. (1990), 539.
578:Documenting America: 1935-1943
523:Edgar Lee Masters: A Biography
282:Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
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898:Writers from New York (state)
497:The Serpent in the Wilderness
266:New England Hurricane of 1938
139:The Serpent in the Wilderness
434:"Why S. Dick Wed Suddenly,"
145:, published in a fine-press
110:, a wealthy manufacturer of
106:Sheldon Dick was the son of
92:Farm Security Administration
70:(1906–1950) was an American
827:by Adrianne Finelli on the
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499:(New York: S. Dick, 1933).
464:"Wife Sues Sheldon Dick,"
250:Berks County, Pennsylvania
232:In July 1938, Dick was in
883:American photojournalists
195:work, and I agreed to it.
61:May 12, 1950 (aged 43–44)
28:
844:Photographs from the FSA
388:service operated by the
120:Albert Abraham Michelson
723:, quoted in Booker, 78.
390:Henry Street Settlement
829:National Film Registry
678:British Film Institute
548:Robert Spiers Benjamin
371:National Film Registry
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124:Corpus Christi College
554:, September 27, 1936.
550:, "Mexican Journey,"
481:"Books and Authors,"
455:, September 29, 1927.
442:, September 27, 1944.
406:Westport, Connecticut
328:about the effects of
218:Flint Sit-Down Strike
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16:American photographer
695:Paul Bowles on Music
128:Cambridge University
848:Library of Congress
797:The New York Times,
750:Library of Congress
674:The New York Times,
589:Colleen McDannell,
521:Herbert K. Russell,
112:mimeograph machines
782:2008-01-13 at the
708:The New York Times
552:The New York Times
510:The New York Times
485:, October 9, 1932.
483:The New York Times
470:The New York Times
466:The New York Times
453:The New York Times
440:The New York Times
436:The New York Times
411:The New York Times
363:American left wing
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152:The New York Times
646:M. Keith Booker,
565:online transcript
512:, August 6, 1933.
296:Dick's images of
143:Edgar Lee Masters
108:Albert Blake Dick
88:Edgar Lee Masters
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835:Sheldon Dick
822:Men and Dust
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764:
753:. Retrieved
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345:Fred Stewart
341:Men and Dust
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311:Men and Dust
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298:Pennsylvania
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187:Walker Evans
181:
170:With the FSA
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80:photographer
68:Sheldon Dick
67:
66:
23:Sheldon Dick
873:1950 deaths
868:1906 births
777:PDF version
719:Alexander,
349:Paul Bowles
183:Roy Stryker
94:during the
862:Categories
755:2020-05-05
680:database,
102:Early life
57:1950-05-12
337:Will Geer
330:silicosis
302:Gilberton
234:Baltimore
84:filmmaker
72:publisher
780:Archived
846:at the
831:website
386:nursing
116:Chicago
824:essay
734:online
682:online
356:vivid.
82:, and
422:Notes
396:Death
156:Times
141:, by
852:here
839:IMDb
51:Died
46:1906
43:Born
837:at
126:at
114:in
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864::
771:,
748:.
598:^
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