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The image shows a group of miners outside the entrance of a mine. The men's full bodies are visible, with some standing and others crouching or leaning. They wear work attire typical of miners, including dark, heavy clothing suitable for labor in the mine, with some having soot on their faces, indicating their profession. Their heads are adorned with hats, some with lamps attached. Several of the men are holding metal lunch pails. The background of the image consists of a wooden structure, presumably the entrance to the mine, with a metal rail track leading into the depths. Steam or smoke is visible in the background. On the sides, there are wooden barriers that partially obstruct the view inside the mine.
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The image shows a group of miners outside the entrance of a mine. The men's full bodies are visible, with some standing and others crouching or leaning. They wear work attire typical of miners, including dark, heavy clothing suitable for labor in the mine, with some having soot on their faces, indicating their profession. Their heads are adorned with hats, some with lamps attached. Several of the men are holding metal lunch pails. The background of the image consists of a wooden structure, presumably the entrance to the mine, with a metal rail track leading into the depths. Steam or smoke is visible in the background. On the sides, there are wooden barriers that partially obstruct the view inside the mine.

National Gallery of Art · Photograph

At the Close of the Day, Pennsylvania

Lewis Hine

Date
January 7, 1911
Medium
gelatin silver print
Dimensions
image: 11.2 × 16.4 cm (4 7/16 × 6 7/16 in.) sheet: 12.7 × 17.7 cm (5 × 6 15/16 in.)
Classification
Photograph
Accession number
2018.145.9
Credit line
Patrons' Permanent Fund
Time span
1901 to 1925
Department
CPH
Original NGA record

Subjects and terms

  • American
  • gelatin silver print
  • Mining
  • Pennsylvania
  • Men
  • Boy
  • industrial
  • architecture
Provenance

(Etherton Gallery, Tucson, AZ); (Charles Isaacs Photographs, Inc., New York), 1997; NGA purchase, 2018.

Inscription

on verso, by unknown hand, top left in black ink: 1925; top right in graphite perpendicular: N. 1925; top right in graphite: 90.2; upper left in graphite: 9-34302; upper center in graphite underlined: Beard; center left in graphite: crop and make / 5 3/4 wide; center right printed in purple ink perpendicular: National Child Labor Committee. [crossed out with graphite] / At the close of the day. Waiting for the / cage to go up. This cage is entirely open / on two sides and not very well protected / on the other two, and is usually crowded / like this. Pa., Jan. 7, 1911. / Photo by Lewis W. Hine.; by unknown hand, center right in graphite perpendicular: Chapter I- Interdependence; lower left in graphite perpendicular: chap; bottom right in black ink inverted: 1925

NGA object ID 212255. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.