Home Front

Home Front Synopsis

As Americans prepared for, and then entered, World War II, the nation was awash with government propaganda. Armed with his Graflex, Speed Graphic, and 35-mm cameras, Alfred T. Palmer shot many of the images that appeared in these patriotic appeals. His photographs were used by the National Defense Advisory Commission, the Office of Emergency Management, the Office of War Information, the War Production Board, the War Shipping Administration, and the US Maritime Commission. Palmer's work reveals his technical prowess. He was masterful in his use of lighting and was a pioneer in the use of colour photography, bringing a visual weapon to America's arsenal to counter Nazi propaganda. His images portray a country transformed into an economically wealthy, socially coherent, and energetic nation whose citizens were depicted as vitally important to the war effort.