Lewis W. Hine
Italian Mother and Child, Ellis Island, New York.

Italian Mother and Child, Ellis Island, New York.

Public Domain

Italian Mother and Child, Ellis Island, New York.
ArtistAmerican, 1874–1940
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Italian Mother and Child, Ellis Island, New York.
Date1905, printed later
PlaceNew York, New York, United States
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage: 13 7/16 × 8 1/4 in. (34.2 × 21 cm)
Sheet: 13 15/16 × 10 15/16 in. (35.4 × 27.8 cm)
Credit LineThe Allan Chasanoff Photographic Collection
Object number91.709
Not on view

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Object Type
Description

Lewis Hine was a writer, social reformer, and photographer.
While teaching at New York’s Ethical Cultural School in 1905, Hine took his students
to Ellis Island to photograph incoming immigrants. In this photograph, Hine
carefully positioned his subjects, bringing to mind altarpieces featuring the
Madonna and Christ child surrounded by angels. In Hine’s work, a modern reality
and a religious story are condensed into a single photographic frame. Hine said
of his photography, “I wanted to show the things that had to be corrected. I
wanted to show the things that had to be appreciated.”




ProvenanceAllan Chasanoff, New York; given to MFAH, 1991.
Exhibition History"Tradition and the Unpredictable: The Allan Chasanoff Photographic Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Upper Jones and Wiess Galleries; January 16-March 27, 1994.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
verso bottom right in pencil " AC#2656.86 ", lower left corner "#1113.28 "

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

Italian Mother and Child, Ellis Island.
Lewis W. Hine
1905, printed 1940s
Gelatin silver print
2012.516.1
Italian Family Looking for Lost Baggage, Ellis Island
Lewis W. Hine
1905, printed 1939
Gelatin silver print
2002.144
Slovak Mother, Ellis Island
Lewis W. Hine
c. 1905
Gelatin silver print
2000.805
Czecho-Slovak Grandmother, Ellis Island
Lewis W. Hine
1926, printed 1940s
Gelatin silver print
2012.516.3
Home Work (Making Garters), Adolescents, New York, New York.
Lewis W. Hine
November 1912
Gelatin silver print
76.245
Newsies, Newark, New Jersey
Lewis W. Hine
December 1909
Gelatin silver print
2000.804
Powerhouse Mechanic
Lewis W. Hine
1920
Gelatin silver print
2002.1301
Untitled (Army Camp)
Lewis W. Hine
c. 1917
Gelatin silver print
76.244
Precision Work on Machine
Lewis W. Hine
1925
Gelatin silver print
80.74
San Antonio Messenger Boys for Red Light District, San Antonio, Texas.
Lewis W. Hine
October 1913
Gelatin silver print
76.275
Inspecting Lens Blanks
Lewis W. Hine
c. 1925
Gelatin silver print
86.378
Precision Machine Worker
Lewis W. Hine
1923
Gelatin silver print
86.377