Question 1

True or false: He was the primary photographer for the Farm Security Administration's entire project.

Accepted Answer

False. Evans worked for the FSA briefly (1935-1937), but Dorothea Lange, Ben Shahn, and others had far more prolific roles in the project.

Question 2

True or false: His book 'Let Us Now Praise Famous Men' featured only his photos without any text.

Accepted Answer

False. The book paired Evans's photos with James Agee's text. It was a collaborative work, though Evans insisted on visual primacy.

Question 3

True or false: Evans famously despised color photography and never used it.

Accepted Answer

False. While known for black-and-white, Evans later used color film for Fortune magazine projects, including subway portraits and industrial scenes.

Question 4

True or false: Walker Evans taught photography at Yale University later in his career.

Accepted Answer

True. From 1965 until his death in 1975, Evans was a professor of photography at the Yale School of Art, influencing a generation.

Question 5

True or false: Evans used a large-format 8x10 view camera for his iconic Depression-era photos.

Accepted Answer

True. Unlike most documentary photographers, Evans favored the bulky 8x10 view camera for its incredible detail and formal precision.

Question 6

True or false: Walker Evans secretly worked as a spy for the OSS during World War II.

Accepted Answer

False. Evans was a war correspondent for Time magazine, not a spy. The OSS did recruit photographers, but Evans wasn't among them.

Question 7

True or false: Evans once secretly photographed subway passengers using a hidden camera.

Accepted Answer

True. In the late 1930s, Evans hid a 35mm Contax camera under his coat to capture candid portraits of New York subway riders.

Question 8

True or false: He was the first photographer to have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art.

Accepted Answer

True. In 1938, MoMA gave Evans its first-ever solo photography exhibition, cementing his status as a fine art pioneer.

Walker Evans Trivia Questions