Presented less than six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Road to Victory, with its clearly propagandistic aim, was an unusual exhibition for MoMA. Photographer Edward Steichen, then a lieutenant commander in the US Navy and later an influential curator of photography at the Museum, organized this arrangement of enormous, freestanding photographic enlargements and murals. Featuring a cross-section of American life, from rural panoramas to scenes of preparation for war, it was intended, according to the press release, to “enable every American to see himself as a vital and indispensable element of victory.” The majority of these uncredited photographs came from federal programs such as the Farm Security Administration.
Road to Victory
May 21–Oct 4, 1942
MoMA
Publications
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Road to victory, a procession of photographs of the nation at war directed by Lt. Comdr. Edward Steichen, U.S.N.R. Out of print, 60 pages
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Press release 4 pages
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Press release 6 pages
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Press release 1 page
Installation images
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