Muskrat Trapper, New Jersey
Bruce Davidson
American, born 1933
1966
A gelatin silver print in which Bruce Davidson records a muskrat trapper and his family at home, aiming to reveal the quiet intimacy and often harsh realities of working‑class domestic life.
What first strikes you is the couple’s close, slightly weary embrace framed by sun‑diffused floral curtains, while a small child lies on the worn wooden floor and a glowing television, ironing board, and scattered household objects make the room simultaneously tender and lived‑in.
Made in the 1960s as part of documentary photography’s turn toward intimate social portraiture, this work humanizes an overlooked American community and helped steer reportage toward more personal, empathetic studies of everyday life.
Medium
Gelatin silver print
Dimensions
13 1/8 × 13 1/8" (33.3 × 33.3 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Anonymous gift in memory of Flobelle Fairbanks Burden
Accession
955.1969
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
