Esther Bubley was a documentary photographer known for her ability to capture intimate and empathetic portraits. Her work explored social issues such as poverty, health care, and education, which Bubley photographed in rural and urban communities, factories, schools and family environments.
Esther Bubley Prints
Artist Biography
Esther Bubley (1921 – 1998) was an American photographer born in Wisconsin. After a brief period working for Vogue in New York, Bubley worked for the Office of War Information during World War II and later for the Standard Oil Company, where she created a series of photographs of everyday life in America. Eventually she secured assignments with the Farm Security Administration and became a regular freelance photographer for numerous national magazines such as LIFE, Ladies’ Home Journal, and The Saturday Evening Post. As well as her documentary photography, she also photographed some of the most important figures of her time, such as Eleanor Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr.
Alongside publishing three books, Bubley’s photographs have been acquired for the permanent collections of several museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art; New York; the Library of Congress and the National Portrait Gallery, Washington; George Eastman House, Rochester, NY; and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth.
© Estate of Esther Bubley, Courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York
