Photo League Disbands; Victim of the Cold War
The Photo League was a non-profit organization created in 1936 to promote photography as an art form. It disbanded on this day because it had lost so many members after being listed on the Attorney General’s List of Subversive Organizations because of its left-wing political orientation.
It was one of many organizations that were destroyed during the Cold War because of being included on the Attorney General’s list.
The League conducted photography classes, held exhibitions, and sponsored some photography projects. A number of its members held left-wing political views and sought to use photography to promote social justice.
Learn more about the Photo League and see the work of its members: Mason Klein and Catherine Evans, The Radical Camera: New York’s Photo League, 1936–1951 (2011)
Watch the documentary about the League: Ordinary Miracles (2012)
Learn more: Larry Ceplair, Anti-Communism in the Twentieth Century America: A Critical History (2011)