Material History of American Religion Project

Picturing Faith: Religious America in Government Photography, 1935 - 1943

Synagogue
Jack Delano
September 1940
Newton, Connecticut

Jewish vernacular architecture was photographed far less frequently than Christian buildings. This synagogue may have been shot because it closely resembled the churches photographed by Walker Evans. By including the distant fields, Delano makes a statement about the rural character of the congregation breaking the purely formal nature of the picture.

For more on the exhibit

Return to the project home page