Depression Era Car Sale Picture

Many Depression Era photographers turned to the American people as the source of their photographs.  This is known as "the folk" or "the masses".  These photographers depicted the catastrophic toll the era had on its people.  This is from an unknown artist and figure.  The crash of the stock market has caused this well-dressed man to stand on the side of a busy city street in a desperate attempt to sell his luxurious vehicle for an extremely low price.  On the car a sign reads, "$100 will buy this car must have cash lost all on the stock market."

The figure has a leg on the side step of the vehicle and one arm through the window holding hismself in a slumped posture, while the other hand is on his neck in what appears to be anguish over the downturn of his fortunes.  His positioning to the car depicts that of a connection to the vehicle and a reluctance to sell it.  I believe he feels the car as a symbol of his wealth, which explains his physical emotion and body positioning.

This vehicle obviously holds the meaning of his loss of wealth and lifestyle.  Social realism can be seen through this loss of social status.  The positioning of the man's hand on his neck with his head turned slightly towards the ground shows a loss of self-respect that can also be interpreted by the social embarrassment of selling this car on a busy city street.  His selling this car while being in his well-dressed suit only pulls the viewer to both the anguish this man is feeling and the trauma this era has brought on not only a specific sector of the American people, but all of the American people alike.