The "Benguela railway station" camp for displaced Angolans. Luena, Alto Zambeze Province, Angola Brazil, 20th century

The "Benguela railway station" camp for displaced Angolans. Luena, Alto Zambeze Province, Angola

1997 (printed 2001)

Sebastião Salgado

(Brazilian, 1944-)

Image: 46.1 x 29.3 cm (18 1/8 x 11 9/16 in.); Paper: 49.3 x 40.5 cm (19 7/16 x 15 15/16 in.); Matted: 66 x 55.9 cm (26 x 22 in.)

The Julius L. Greenfield Photography Acquisition Fund 2001.108

Catalogue raisonné: LUM15871

Location: not on view

This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Description

Renowned for his humanitarian images, photojournalist Sebastião Salgado seeks to raise awareness of the suffering and poverty that exist in today's third-world countries. His recently published book, The Children, contains ninety photographs taken from 1994-1998 of the innocent victims of refugee and migrant camps throughout the world. It includes this young child displaced as a result of civil war. In this close-up image, Salgado diffuses the background and uses dramatic highlights to accentuate the subject's serious expression and the stains on his coarse, simple clothing. Seated alone, the child's body position and wide-eyed, side-ways stare reveal a blend of sadness, resignation, dignity, and beauty in one whose years belie his life experiences.