Bread and Roses: The Social Documentary of Milton and Anne Rogovin

image of Milton Rogovin's Buffalo, New York

Milton Rogovin, Buffalo, New York, from the series Lower West Side, 1974. Gelatin silver print (17.6 cm x 15.4 cm). Gift of Denise Jarvinen (Class of 1983) and Pierre Cremieux in memory of Karl E. "Chip" Case, Professor Emeritus of Economics, 2016.231

Bread and Roses: The Social Documentary of Milton and Anne Rogovin

Feb 7, 2019–Jun 9, 2019

Robert and Claire Freedman Lober Viewing Alcove

Free and open to the public

After appearing before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1957 (inspiring his local paper, the Buffalo Evening News, to label him “Buffalo’s Top Red”), the optometrist and social activist Milton Rogovin turned to photography as a means of continuing his commitment to social equity, a commitment echoed by the political slogan “Bread and Roses.” This exhibition explores how Rogovin, together with his wife, Anne, built on the legacy of social documentary photography in the United States in subtle ways that expanded the potential of the medium to reach and affect audiences, as well as their subjects—the workers of the world.

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