WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›Arthur Rothstein

Arthur Rothstein

Arthur Rothstein

Artist

WA-00029197

PhotographyPhotography

Representation

None documented

15

Institutional Exhibitions

71

Works in Collection

98

Assets Indexed

2

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

90%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (3)

WikidataQ711226 ULAN500004799

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

The Artist as Adversary

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1971

No image

Edward Steichen Photography Center

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1964

No image

The Photographer's Eye

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1964

No image

The Bitter Years: 1935�1941

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1962

No image

Photographs for Collectors

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1960

No image

30th Anniversary Special Installation - Towards the "New" Museum

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1959

No image

Photographs from the Museum Collection

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1958–1959

No image

70 Photographers Look at New York

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1957–1958

No image

Developing Creativeness In Children

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1955

No image

Then and Now

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1952

No image

The Exact Instant

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1949

No image

Photography

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1944

Field Verification (2 fields)

1 cross-verified · 1 single-source

BiographyMoMA· 93%✓
LocationGallery Generic· 72%

Source Registry (2)

Christies-Artsyhttps://www.artsy.net/artist/arthur-rothstein
Tier 3 · Scraped/inferred100%
MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/5050
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

Arthur Rothstein was an American photographer born in 1915 who documented rural America during the Great Depression and World War II as a Farm Security Administration photographer. His stark black-and-white images captured agricultural hardship, migrant labor, and social conditions across the American South and Midwest. Rothstein later worked as a photojournalist and staff photographer for major publications, extending his documentary practice into the postwar era. His work established a foundational visual language for American social documentary photography.

Source: Christies Artsy · Trust score: 100% · Updated 1mo ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

Photography

Medium

Photography

Related Artists

12 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Art Institute of Chicago Museum of Modern ArtNew York

Canonical record

Artworks (71)

1963 · Gelatin silver print

8 1/4 × 11 15/16" (21 × 30.3 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

At a charity ball, New York City

At a charity ball, New York City

1951 · Gelatin silver print, No. 29, from the portfolio "Arthur Rothstein" (1981)

Image: 23.5 × 23 cm (9 5/16 × 9 1/16 in.); Paper: 35.5 × 27.7 cm (14 × 10 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

John Marin in His Studio, Hoboken, New Jersey

John Marin in His Studio, Hoboken, New Jersey

1949 · Gelatin silver print, No. 27, from the portfolio "Arthur Rothstein" (1981)

Image: 23.1 × 30.4 cm (9 1/8 × 12 in.); Paper: 28 × 35.4 cm (11 1/16 × 13 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

American Soldiers in Nightclub, Vienna, Austria

American Soldiers in Nightclub, Vienna, Austria

1947 · Gelatin silver print, No. 28, from the portfolio "Arthur Rothstein" (1981)

Image: 30.6 × 22.8 cm (12 1/16 × 9 in.); Paper: 35.5 × 27.6 cm (14 × 10 7/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Farmers in the Market, Tocco, Italy

Farmers in the Market, Tocco, Italy

1947 · Gelatin silver print, No. 26, from the portfolio "Arthur Rothstein" (1981)

Image: 20.7 × 30.4 cm (8 3/16 × 12 in.); Paper: 27.8 × 35.4 cm (11 × 13 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Young Coal Miner, Wales

Young Coal Miner, Wales

1947 · Gelatin silver print, No. 25, from the portfolio "Arthur Rothstein" (1981)

Image: 30.4 × 22.7 cm (12 × 8 15/16 in.); Paper: 35.4 × 28 cm (13 15/16 × 11 1/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Coal Miners, Wales

Coal Miners, Wales

1947 · Gelatin silver print, No. 24, from the portfolio "Arthur Rothstein" (1981)

Image: 30.7 × 22.9 cm (12 1/8 × 9 1/16 in.); Paper: 35.6 × 27.7 cm (14 1/16 × 10 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Gamblers, Las Vegas, Nevada

Gamblers, Las Vegas, Nevada

1947 · Gelatin silver print, No. 17, from the portfolio "Arthur Rothstein" (1981)

Image: 23.2 × 22.5 cm (9 3/16 × 8 7/8 in.); Paper: 35.5 × 22.7 cm (14 × 8 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Burial of Famine Victim, Hengyang, China

Burial of Famine Victim, Hengyang, China

1946 · Gelatin silver print, No. 23, from the portfolio "Arthur Rothstein" (1981)

Image: 30.5 × 22.8 cm (12 1/16 × 9 in.); Paper: 35.6 × 27.7 cm (14 1/16 × 10 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Famine Victim, Hengyang, China

Famine Victim, Hengyang, China

1946 · Gelatin silver print, No. 22, from the portfolio "Arthur Rothstein" (1981)

Image: 30.7 × 22.8 cm (12 1/8 × 9 in.); Paper: 35.6 × 27.6 cm (14 1/16 × 10 7/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Child Running Out of Chinese School

Child Running Out of Chinese School

1945 · Gelatin silver print

Image/paper: 22.8 × 19 cm (9 × 7 1/2 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Burma Road

1945 · Gelatin silver print, No. 21, from the portfolio "Arthur Rothstein" (1981)

Image: 22.6 × 22.3 cm (8 15/16 × 8 13/16 in.); Paper: 35.2 × 22.9 cm (13 7/8 × 9 1/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Boy with Chicken, Hungjao, China

Boy with Chicken, Hungjao, China

1945 · Gelatin silver print, No. 20, from the portfolio "Arthur Rothstein" (1981)

Image: 30.5 × 23 cm (12 1/16 × 9 1/16 in.); Paper: 35.4 × 28 cm (13 15/16 × 11 1/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Nursery school playground, Robstown, Texas

Nursery school playground, Robstown, Texas

1942 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 10 × 7.4 cm (3 15/16 × 2 15/16 in.); Paper: 12.9 × 10.1 cm (5 1/8 × 4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

George Washington Carver, Tuskegee, Alabama

George Washington Carver, Tuskegee, Alabama

1942 · Gelatin silver print, No. 19, from the portfolio "Arthur Rothstein" (1981)

Image: 30.5 × 22.9 cm (12 1/16 × 9 1/16 in.); Paper: 35.4 × 28 cm (13 15/16 × 11 1/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Pete Seeger sings at American Youth Congress

Pete Seeger sings at American Youth Congress

1941 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 24 × 19.2 cm (9 1/2 × 7 9/16 in.); Paper: 25.4 × 20.6 cm (10 × 8 1/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Unemployed Youth (Saturday Night), Birmingham, Alabama

Unemployed Youth (Saturday Night), Birmingham, Alabama

1940 · Gelatin silver print

34.3 × 26.7 cm (13 1/2 × 10 1/2 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Pool hall, Culp, Illinois

Pool hall, Culp, Illinois

1940 · Gelatin silver print, No. 18, from the portfolio "Arthur Rothstein" (1981)

Image: 23 × 30.5 cm (9 1/16 × 12 1/16 in.); Paper: 27.8 × 35.4 cm (11 × 13 15/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Migrant worker, Visalia, California

Migrant worker, Visalia, California

1940 · Gelatin silver print, No. 8, from the portfolio "Arthur Rothstein" (1981)

Image: 30.3 × 23 cm (11 15/16 × 9 1/16 in.); Paper: 35.2 × 27.9 cm (13 7/8 × 11 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Copper Pit, Ruth, Nevada

Copper Pit, Ruth, Nevada

1940 · Gelatin silver print

9 1/2 × 7 1/8" (24.1 × 18.1 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

U.S. Highway 30, Sweetwater County, Wyoming

U.S. Highway 30, Sweetwater County, Wyoming

1940 · Gelatin silver print

9 3/4 × 13" (24.8 × 33 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Mountain Farm, Rappahannock County, Virginia

Mountain Farm, Rappahannock County, Virginia

1940 · Gelatin silver print

7 1/8 × 9 3/8" (18.1 × 23.8 cm)

Museum of Modern Art

Mr.and Mrs. Andy Bahain on Their Farm Near Kersey Colorado

Mr.and Mrs. Andy Bahain on Their Farm Near Kersey Colorado

1939 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 45.5 × 38 cm (17 15/16 × 15 in.); Paper: 50.5 × 40.5 cm (19 15/16 × 16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Andy Bahain with Seed Corn, Kersey Colorado

Andy Bahain with Seed Corn, Kersey Colorado

1939 · Gelatin silver print

Image: 34.4 × 26.7 cm (13 9/16 × 10 9/16 in.); Paper: 35.6 × 27.8 cm (14 1/16 × 11 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

View all 71 artworks →

Artwork sources (4)

71 published of 97 catalogued · 89 with image

Art Institute Chicago
39 published39 img
MoMA
26 publishedof 52 catalogued50 img
Cleveland Museum of Art
3 published
The Met
3 published

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 3)

3 entries · 1 sources

Photographs by Arthur Rothstein
1935 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Photographs by Arthur Rothstein
1936 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Dust Storm, Cimarron County
1936 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

Girl at Gee's Bend, Alabama [Artelia Bendolph] (Art Institute of Chicago)

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

4

Movements1

Collections3

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Art Institute of Chicago Museum of Modern Art

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US