VIDEO CNN's Phil Hirschkorn looks at an exhibit of Walker Evans' photographs spanning 50 years of American life. Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

GALLERY Click through a collection of Walker Evans' images of people and places

'Walker Evans': Candor with a camera

February 25, 2000
Web posted at: 5:16 p.m. EST (2216 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Lugging his camera along the back roads of the South and through the crowded urban centers of the North, Walker Evans documented the United States' transformation in the 20th century. He focused on common folks -- often in unsuspecting moments -- and on scenery that he felt expressed the American spirit.

The first comprehensive retrospective of Evans' 50-year career is on display through May 14 at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. It features 175 prints, including little-known experimental images from the '20s, classic Depression-era pictorials, photo essays for Fortune magazine done in the '40s and '50s, and colored Polaroids from the '70s.

CNN's Phil Hirschkorn reports on Evans and his impact (right top). Also, see more of Walker Evans' work in our two photo galleries (at right).

Following its New York presentation, "Walker Evans" is to travel to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art from June 2 to September 12 and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston from December 17 to March 4, 2001.

Exhibitions: On display in January and February
December 20, 1999
Review: 'Walker Evans: Signs'
October 27, 1998

Metropolitan Museum of Art
Walker Evans

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