Roy Stryker - Telling America’s Story with Photographs

Roy Stryker was a visionary leader who used the power of photography to tell America’s story and give voice to people often overlooked during the Great Depression and World War II.

Roy was born on November 5, 1893, in Great Bend, Kansas. When he was still a boy, his family moved to Montrose, Colorado, where his father worked as a farmer. Life on the farm gave Roy a deep respect for hard work and for the struggles of ordinary people. He planned to continue his studies at the Colorado School of Mines, but World War I interrupted his education. Stryker joined the U.S. Army infantry, served his country, and then returned home.

After the war, Roy went back to school for a short time, but soon his life took another path. He married and moved to New York City, where he studied economics at Columbia University. He graduated in 1924 and stayed on as a teacher. At Columbia, Stryker worked closely with Professor Rexford Tugwell, one of his mentors. Along with Tugwell and their colleague Thomas Munro, Stryker helped write a textbook called American Economic Life. While working on this project, Stryker realized how powerful photographs could be in teaching people and persuading them to think about important issues. This new interest would shape the rest of his life.

Stryker’s years at Columbia also connected him with progressive thinkers who were building the New Deal, a series of programs created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to help the country during the Great Depression. In 1935, when Tugwell joined Roosevelt’s team in Washington, D.C., Stryker followed. He became head of the Historical Section of the Resettlement Administration, a government agency created to support struggling farmers.

At first, the goal of Stryker’s section was to document government projects. But Stryker believed photography could do much more. He began hiring talented photographers, such as Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans, Ben Shahn, and Gordon Parks. He encouraged them not only to record official projects but also to capture the daily lives of Americans. Their photographs showed farm families, migrant workers, small towns, and city streets. These images told the story of a country in crisis but also revealed its strength and resilience.

n 1937, the Resettlement Administration became the Farm Security Administration (FSA). Under Stryker’s leadership, the FSA photography project grew into one of the most important documentary efforts in U.S. history. Instead of focusing only on government programs, Stryker’s team created a vast archive of American life. He was careful to protect this mission, even when the agency changed. He wanted to make sure the photographs would last as a record for future generations.

When the United States entered World War II, the photography unit moved again, this time to the Office of War Information. The photographers now recorded the home front, factories, farms, and families supporting the war effort. By 1943, the unit was dissolved, but Stryker had already secured the preservation of more than 176,000 photographs. These images, now housed at the Library of Congress, remain a powerful record of American history between 1935 and 1944.

After leaving government work, Stryker brought his documentary vision to private industry. At the Standard Oil Company, he organized a photography project modeled after his FSA work and hired many of his former colleagues. Later, he led projects for the city of Pittsburgh and the Johns & Laughlin Steel Company. In each case, he believed that photography could help people understand the human side of economic and social change.

Roy Stryker died on September 27, 1975, in Grand Junction, Colorado. His legacy lives on in the images he helped create and protect. The FSA-OWI photographs remain one of the richest visual records of American life ever assembled. They show not only hardship but also resilience, community, and the dignity of everyday people.

Stryker’s vision helped Americans see themselves more clearly. Through his leadership, photography became more than art, it became a tool for truth and a way to connect people across time and place.

References:
“About This Collection: Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black-and-White Negatives: Digital Collections: Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/collections/fsa-owi-black-and-white-negatives/about-this-collection.
“Oral History Interview with Roy Emerson Stryker, 1963-1965.” Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-roy-emerson-stryker-12480.
“Roy Stryker.” Photogrammar, photogrammar.org/photographers/RoyStryker.

Key words:
Arts, Wartime, Perseverance, Creativity, Responsibility, Honesty, Make a Difference, Stand Up for Your Beliefs

Image Citation:
Public Domain