<I>Washington, D.C. Government charwoman (American Gothic)</I>

Gordon Parks, American, 1912 - 2006 · 1942; printed later

In 1942, as a photographer for the Farm Security Administration, Gordon Parks documented the joys and struggles of African Americans who toiled to maintain the allure of Washington, D.C., while raising their own families in difficult conditions. Ella Watson, pictured here, allowed Parks access to her work life cleaning government offices and her home life caring for her grandchildren. In American Gothic, Watson holds her broom and mop against the backdrop of the American flag, emphasizing the cost of citizenship. The title and composition reference the 1930 Grant Wood painting of a farmer and his daughter, with the man holding a pitchfork outside their Iowa farmhouse.