Parks is one of the most influential figures in 20th-century American Art. A self-taught photographer born in Kansas, Parks became an apprentice to Roy Stryker in the early 1940s and joined his group of Farm Securities Administration photographers alongside Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, and others. During this time, Parks created American Gothic, Washington D.C., 1942, which would become his signature image. The title is inspired by Grant Wood's American Gothic. The woman in the photo, Ella Watson, worked in the government building in whcih the FSA was headquartered. During WWII, Parks worked as an official war photographer, and then moved on to a long stint at LIFE magazine, becoming a sought-after fashion and portait artist. He also continued making images of civil right figures and protests.

Source: DMAC NEWS Sep Oct Nov Dec 2021