Art Speaks: Immigration

One of the greatest tools to make artworks relevant to students is to connect them to societal issues the students encounter in their everyday lives. As the cultural makeup of our schools and communities continues to diversify, we can help students understand that artists are also people from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and home countries. 

Over the centuries, many artists have immigrated to the United States, bringing with them new ideas. In fact, almost all of the founding fathers and mothers of American art were immigrants from Europe. Consider the nineteenth-century artist William Sharp who immigrated from England to Boston in 1839, bringing with him the knowledge of how to introduce the first mechanical color printmaking process (chromolithography) to America. We wouldn’t have a complete picture of the American Civil War without the compelling photographs of Timothy O’Sullivan (who immigrated from Ireland to Washington, D.C. in 1842) or Alexander or James Gardner (who immigrated from Scotland in 1856). And the story of American folk art couldn’t fully be told without the work of Elie Nadelman who immigrated from Poland in 1914. 

Another perspective on immigration comes from the early twentieth-century photographer Lewis Hine. Not only did he teach photography at the university level, but he also began photographing the immigrant families arriving at New York’s Ellis Island in 1904. At this time, five thousand immigrants arrived there daily, packing the Registry Room that led to processing through U.S. immigration. Immigrants fed the growth of cities and displaced resident workers in factory jobs, causing resentment and giving rise to racial stereotypes. Hine’s photographic venture in social reform stressed the inherent dignity of all people and aimed to evoke sympathy for the plight of these new citizens.  

Lewis Wickes Hine (1874–1940), A Russian Family Group at Ellis Island, 1905, gelatin silver print, Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas, P1981.78

Look closely at this photograph of a Russian family group at Ellis Island in 1905. Select an individual in the image and think about his or her point of view, reflecting on his or her possible thoughts, feelings, and experiences as this photograph was made. 

You only have to think about what American art would be missing without these artists and others to realize the integral role of immigrants on art’s history. What will your students discover about themselves and the world around them when they contemplate their work?

Explore further:
Ellis Island
George Eastman House – Lewis Hine’s Ellis Island Series

-Stacy Fuller