Photo by W. Eugene Smith, Viva Franco, c1950

Photo: 13 1/2" x 10 1/2"
Mat: 20" x 16"

W. Eugene Smith & the Spanish Village Series
(Source: janbanning.com) In the summer of 1950, the American photographer W. Eugene Smith sets off on a trip to Spain for the renowned weekly magazine Life. Eleven years earlier, the civil war ended there with Franco declaring victory. However, his position within international politics is precarious. The Second World War ended with the defeat of his fellow dictators Hitler and Mussolini and the Spanish dictator narrowly escaped being unseated by the Allies. Since 1945, Spain finds itself in diplomatic isolation. Reluctantly, the regime is reaching out, initially to the United States of America. The Cold War has led to a climate that isnt unfavorable for this. Apart from this, it seems a good idea to do something about Spains image, which in the public opinion is still associated with Nazi Germany and fascist Italy.

As part of a goodwill campaign, Eugene Smith is allowed into the country. With his assistant Ted Castle and interpreter Nina Peinado he covers approximately 10,000 kilometers over the course of a month, searching for a suitable location for his representation of life under Franco. He finally ends up in Deleitosa: a village of 2,300 inhabitants in the Extremadura region, one of the most underdeveloped regions of Spain. Almost a year later, in April 1951, his reportage appears in Life magazine, under the title: Spanish Village; it Lives in Ancient Poverty and Faith. In photographs and text, Eugene Smith sketches an image of a primitive, still almost medieval hamlet, living in poverty off an unforgiving earth. It is still severely deprived of the blessings of modern civilization; no water supply or sewage system, hardly any electricity, dirt roads smelling of manure and no telephone system.

Good condition overall