Beginning Thursday, August 13 and running until October 17, we are pleased to present Arkansas Portraits: Black and White Photographs from the Farm Security Administration Collection, 1935-1938. This exhibition features 24 black and white photographs taken in Arkansas during the height of the Great Depression. These photographs, many of which were selected from Patsy G. Watkins’ book It’s All Done Gone, Arkansas Photographs from the Farm Security Administration Collection, 1935-1943 are reprinted from the Farm Security Administration Office of War Information Photograph Collection in the Library of Congress.
This curation features work by celebrated photographers Ben Shahn, Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, Carl Mydans, Russell Lee, and Arthur Rothstein. The majority of photographs in the exhibition were taken in the Arkansas Ozarks, with the remainder taken in counties across Arkansas. These images have been printed and framed expressly for this exhibition and have never been hung in this particular curation for the public to experience.
“I realized this exhibition concept would be a great fit for our gallery after discovering Watkins’ wonderful book,” said Lawrence McElroy, Director of Arts and Culture at Historic Cane Hill. “The opportunity to showcase an exhibition that combines components of rural Arkansas history with fine art furthers our organization’s mission. Watkins’ thorough research made the development of the exhibition an easy and enjoyable task.”
The exhibition space in the Historic Cane Hill gallery will include educational panels that provide information about the FSA and the project’s history. Additional panels will include biographies of the featured photographers. A display of cameras representing the same make and models used by the photographers will also be included.
The exhibition opens with a reception at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 13, 2026. The reception is free to attend and open to all.
Arkansas Portraits will be open to the public during gallery hours, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, or by appointment, from Thursday, August 13 through October 17, 2026.
Featured Program: It’s All Done Gone: the Stories Behind the Photographs
Historic Cane Hill welcomes Patsy Watkins, author of It’s All Done Gone, Arkansas Photographs from the Farm Security Administration Collection, 1935-1943, on August 26 at 6 PM in the Cane Hill College Building.
Watkins’ book, published in 2018 by the University of Arkansas Press, is a book of documentary photography featuring 184 Arkansas images from the federal Farm Security Administration project of the 1930s. It won the 2018 Ned Shank Award for Outstanding Preservation Publication from Preserve Arkansas.
Watkins is an emeritus professor of journalism at the University of Arkansas. She will provide general background of the FSA photo project and its significance in the Great Depression. She’ll discuss certain photos, noting their photographers, their content, and likely reasons they were taken. Watkins will note the photos’ continued impact today, roughly 90 years after they were taken. After an overview, Watkins will open the floor to discuss any of the photos about which people may have questions.
Watkins will sign copies of her book immediately following the lecture, and copies of the book be available for purchase for the duration of the exhibition. Prior to and following the lecture, guests will have the opportunity to view the exhibition in the Historic Cane Hill Gallery.
Please note that attendees will need to be able to climb a flight of stairs to attend the lecture session. A livestream will be provided in an accessible room.