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Originally produced in: Italy
Also available in: en

4. Italians on Ellis Island photographed by Lewis Hine

Lewis Hine, Italian emigrant in Ellis Island Click image to enlarge
Source: New York Public Library. On-line, at: http://digitalgallery.nypl.org/nypldigital/dgkeysearchdetail.cfm?trg=1&strucID=131301&imageID=79878&parent_id=131034&word=&snum=&s=¬word=&d=&c=&f=&k=0&sScope=&sLevel=&sLabel=&total=14&num=0&imgs=20&pNum=&pos=2.

Presentation

The photography above is by Lewis Hine (1874-1940): born in the USA, in the early years of the twentieth century he made thousands of portraits of migrants disembarking on Ellis Island in New York harbour.

At first relating to Italian migrants only, the photograph has become an icon image of the situation of migrants in the early twentieth century.

Questions

  1. Who was Lewis Hine?
  2. What was Ellis Island? Why did Hine take so many pictures there?
  3. What does this photograph stand for? (please note what is there and what is missing)
  4. Does the photograph have a heading?

Display teacher's view to find the answers.