American Gothic

Photo of a Black woman with a broom and mop standing in front of an American flag. This is a parody of Grant Wood's iconic 1930 oil painting with the same title and symbolized life for Blacks in the pre-civil-rights America. The woman in the photo is Mrs. Ella Watson, a government charwoman. She and her family were photographed in her home in August of 1942 by Park as part of his work for the Farm Security Administration, documenting the working class families and neighborhoods of Washington, DC.