Bill Brandt’s ‘Northumberland

Miner at his Evening Meal’

AKINBIYI BABARINDE, CHARLOTTE BRODIE, BESS COURTNEY

An Image of a coal miner eating,1937 by Bill

Brandt

The miner has a meal during difficult times, the

world is recovering from a recession, the image

shows the couple’s acceptance to the situation.

Though employment is up, the employed work in

bad conditions.

The Cultural – Reason

American Economy in Recession

The Great Depression

The Cultural – The Mind State Unemployment down

“1937 Unemployment continued to drop to 14.3% dropping some 6.7%

from the previous year”

Historical

“We in America today are nearer to the final triumph

over poverty than ever before in history of any land.

The poorhouse is vanishing among us”

Herbert Hoover, A year before the Wall Street Crash.

Historical

Raised income tax

Cut unemployment pay

Added import duties to goods from abroad

Introduced the means test

Historical

The failure of trade unions to challenge government is illustrated in this Punch cartoon of 19 May 1926.

Contemporary

Frits and Vera Eriksson, Öre-Långsele, 1966

by Sune Jonsson

Contemporary

Coal Mining, Dhanbad,

Bihar, India,1989

by Sebastião Salgado

Conclusion

Accepting faith of manual labour

Happy with very little

Bibliography

The People History (s.d). 1937 Unemployment continued to drop to

14.3% dropping some 6.7% from the previous year At:

http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1937.html

Yass, Marion. (1973) “We in America today are nearer to the final

triumph over poverty than ever before in history of any land. The

poorhouse is vanishing among us” The great depression. London:

Wayland Publishers.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/usa/walld

epressionrev1.shtmlb

Illustration List

http://www.billbrandt.com/Shop/printshop.html

http://onwardandforwardfashion.blogspot.co.uk/2011_02_01_archive.html

http://1930sjomc240.wordpress.com/2010/10/21/1929-stock-market-crash-leds-to-great-

depression/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/mwh/usa/walldepressionrev1.shtml

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/general-strike-cover-

papers.htm

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/photography/8921304/Sune-Jonsson.html

http://www.artspace.com/sebastiao_salgado/coal_mining_dhanbad_bihar_india

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/themes/general-strike-

cover-papers.htm