Arthur Rothstein Photographic Exhibit Closing Party to Benefit Key West Art & Historical Society
Photo by Brodie Hefner
The Key West Art & Historical Society will host a closing party to conclude Assignment Key West 1938: Arthur Rothstein Photographs at the Custom House Museum on Tuesday, November 10 at 5:30 pm. The evening will include a lecture by Rothstein’s daughter, Dr. Ann Rothstein-Segan, and a rare opportunity to acquire the actual exhibit images— museum-quality reproductions from the Arthur Rothstein Archive.
The immensely popular exhibit of more than 40 pieces of Rothstein’s iconic black-and-white images represent the famed photographer’s perspective of Depression-era Key West. Rothstein took them while on assignment with the Farm Security Administration, a program established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of his New Deal to help struggling farmers. In January of 1938, the 22-year-old arrived in Key West, a city slowly beginning its recovery from the devastating effects of the Great Depression. Rothstein’s photographs of spongers, cigar-makers, barbers, fishermen, residents, and architecture vividly demonstrated to the world both the frailty and resilience of the Florida Keys communities.
A recipient of more than 35 photojournalism awards during his 50-year career, Rothstein’s photographs have appeared in numerous exhibitions and are in permanent collections of museums throughout the world, including the U.S. Library of Congress—providing “an indelible visual record of life in the United States, particularly during some of the dark years of the Great Depression,” says KWAHS Curator Cori Convertito, PhD.
“Working with Annie and her husband Brodie Hefner, who spearhead the Arthur Rothstein Archive, we selected the images for the exhibition that represent a broad spectrum of people and places that are truly ‘Key West’,” says Convertito.
Dr. Rothstein-Segan, a New York-based oral historian and curator of exhibitions of her father’s work, traveled to Key West in mid-July to help launch the exhibit by presenting an engaging narrative about her father. She returned in mid-October to visit schools throughout the Keys as part of the KWAHS Student Life Speaker Series, a new education program underwritten by a Florida Keys Council of the Arts “Artists in Schools” Grant.
During her most recent visit, Dr. Rothstein-Segan advocated that KWAHS make the 18”x22” framed black-and-white prints purchasable at the closing party as a fundraiser for the Society. “These museum-quality reproductions were taken from digital scans belonging to the Arthur Rothstein Archive. The Society is both amazed and honored by Annie’s suggestion and generosity,” said Convertito.
The exhibition photographs were meticulously restored under Dr. Rothstein-Segan’s supervision and were based on the finest-available original images in the archives of the Prints & Photographs Division of the Library of Congress. Key West Art & Historical Society had them printed and framed by Alan Kennish’s Key West Fine Art & Photography Printing using only the finest archival-quality acid-free paper and archival inks.
The fundraiser will begin with Rothstein-Segan’s lecture in the Helmerich Research & Learning Center and conclude with the offering of images at $300 each. Refreshments will be served. Admission to the lecture is by reservation only which can be done on KWAHS.org/learn. The closing party is free to KWAHS members and non-members.
The Rothstein exhibit has been sponsored in part by Judith and Stanley Zabar, Maxine Makover and Jack Paul, and the Arthur Rothstein Archive. For more information call Cori Convertito at 295.6616 x 112 or visit WWW.KWAHS.ORG.
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