Sadie Pfeifer, a Cotton Mill Spinner, Lancaster, South Carolina
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
20.2 × 25.2 cm (8 × 9 15/16 in.)
Classification
gelatin silver (developing-out-paper) pr
Department
Photography and Media
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
23336
Art Historical Context
This gelatin silver print by Lewis Wickes Hine captures Sadie Pfeifer at work as a cotton mill spinner in Lancaster, South Carolina, in 1908. Measuring about 8 by 10 inches, the photograph belongs to the Art Institute of Chicago’s Photography and Media collection. Hine, a leading figure in early social documentary photography, used his camera not merely to record but to advocate, turning everyday industrial scenes into powerful calls for reform. The image reflects the widespread use of child labor in American textile mills during the Progressive Era, when young workers like Sadie endured long...
About the Artist
Lewis Wickes Hine · 1874–1940
Lewis Wickes Hine (1874–1940) was born on September 26 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, to Douglas and Sarah Hine, who ran a coffeehouse and restaurant on Main Street. After his father's accidental death from a self-inflicted gunshot wound around 1892, the teenage Hine supported his widowed mother and sisters through various jobs while pursuing education. He attended Oshkosh Normal School, where he met ment...