American Photography: A Century of Images

Mass media devoted to distributing photographic images emerge. Magazines like Life and Look—dedicated to telling stories, primarily through photographs—grew rapidly in popularity. An Associated Press “wire photo” could be sent anywhere instantly, allowing millions of people to see the same pictures at the same time. Documentary photographers influenced Americans' view of the Depression and World War II. The consumer frenzy of the 1950s was driven by our desire to possess the images of abundance.