For approximately thirty years, John Frank Keith (1883-1947) traversed the streets of South Philadelphia and Kensington snapping portraits of the residents who lived there. Described as a somewhat shy and socially awkward bachelor, Keith found a way to connect with people using his camera. Starting around 1910, peaking in the mid-to-late 1920s, and continuing up to about 1940, Keith documented hundreds of working-class Philadelphians standing on sidewalks and sitting on stoops. His photographic style was straightforward and documentary, not abstract. He often captured the full height of his subjects as they looked straight into the camera. Babies and young children laugh, teenage boys jest, young women put their arms around their friends, and little girls demurely model their First Communion dresses. Litter, cigarettes, bottles of beer, and graffiti were not removed from the composition, which itself was often framed by whatever facade Keith placed his subjects in front of. For the most part, the subjects remain anonymous and the exact locations of the images unknown. The 250 photographs comprising the John Frank Keith Collection depict everyday Philadelphians in ordinary situations. They provide an important link to the rich history of the city’s oldest neighborhoods and evoke ideas of a time when families struggled economically but enjoyed the social ties of their neighborhoods.
Curated by Charlene Peacock, 2009.
Resources
Faces and Facades of Philadelphia: Three Decades of Portraits by John Frank Keith Online Exhibition
