The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 24, 2024
Dust Storm, Cimarron County
1936
(American, 1915–1985)
Image: 19.7 x 19.1 cm (7 3/4 x 7 1/2 in.); Matted: 55.9 x 45.7 cm (22 x 18 in.)
© Arthur Rothstein, Library of Congress
Location: not on view
Description
A severe drought in the High Plains during the mid-1930s led to catastrophic erosion of the soil and dust storms. Rothstein took this iconic image while photographing for the Farm Security Administration in the Oklahoma panhandle. “While making my pictures,” he recalled, “I could hardly breathe because the dust was everywhere. It was so heavy in the air that the land and sky seemed to merge until there was no horizon. . . . Just as I was about to finish shooting I saw a farmer and his two sons walk across the fields. As they pressed into the wind, the smallest child walked a few steps behind, his hands covering his eyes to protect them from the dust.”- Cleveland Museum of Art, “Accession List,” December 26, 2001, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
- From Riches to Rags: American Photography in the Depression. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 13-December 31, 2017).Icons of American Photography: A Century of Photographs from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 24-September 16, 2007); Frick Art and Historical Center, Pittsburgh, PA (October 3, 2009-January 3, 2010).
- {{cite web|title=Dust Storm, Cimarron County|url=false|author=Arthur Rothstein|year=1936|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2001.91