Promises, Promises

Joe Schwartz, artist

1913–2013

Promises, Promises, 1930s

Where object was made: Bedford, Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York, United States

Material/technique: gelatin silver print

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 26 x 27 cm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 10 1/4 x 10 5/8 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 26 x 27 cm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 10 1/4 x 10 5/8 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 19 x 14 in

Credit line: Museum purchase: Helen Foresman Spencer Art Acquisition Fund

Accession number: 2004.0004

Not on display

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Brosseau Center for Learning: Centenarians

In the 1930s, Joe Schwartz was introduced to the Photo League of New York. His photos served to capture the dignity and hope of immigrants and African Americans. While focusing on interracial cooperation and understanding, Schwartz endeavored to serve as a philosopher of hope rather than a messenger of despair. Schwartz served as a combat photographer on Iwo Jima during World War II. He completed a photo book that summarized his rich career at age 86.

Brosseau Center for Learning: In Conversation with the 2016 KU Common Book

“I knew that West Baltimore, where I lived; that the north side of Philadelphia, where my cousins lived; that the South Side of Chicago, where friends of my father lived, comprised a world apart. Somewhere out there beyond the firmament, past the asteroid belt, there were other worlds where children did not regularly fear for their bodies.” ("Between the World and Me," p. 20)