Window and Thatch, South Uist, Outer Hebrides

Date

1954

Creator

Over much of the 20th century Paul Strand was a towering figure in American photography. As a high school student he was a pupil of Lewis Hine, and in 1916 Alfred Stieglitz exhibited his photographs at Gallery 291. Strand made government propaganda films during World War II, despite his Leftist political leanings. In 1945 the Museum of Modern Art presented a solo exhibition of his photographs, but five years later he left the country amid McCarthyist threats. In Europe, Strand produced photobooks celebrating remarkable places. On South Uist off the west coast of Scotland, he observed traditional lives as they had been for centuries. This glimpse of a crofter’s cottage reveals much about living on the island. Thick stone walls and little windows keep out the cold and damp, and a compact roof of local thatch insulates against the gales. A can, colander and brush stand on the window ledge, ready for the washing of vegetables, scallops, oysters, or a dog’s feet. from Touchstones of the Twentieth Century: A History of Photography at the University of Notre Dame (exhibition, 2020-21)