States of the Union: 2008 – 2016
50 states in 50 images of America throughout the Obama administration
Magnum Photographers
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Carolyn Drake Birmingham, Alabama. 2014. The view through the bus window on the first leg of Elnora Shearer's bus ride to work. 70 year old Elnora works as a domestic help in the affluent Mountain Brook neighbor (...)
hood of Birmingham.
The Cherokee Bend 50 is a public bus service in Birmingham, Alabama which is colloquially known as the 'Maids' Bus' by the local Transport Authority. It collects a group of older African-American women and drops them off, one by one, along the side of the road in the affluent suburb of Mountain Brook. From the road, the women make their way along the long driveways to the homes of their employers where they work as domestic help. Many of these women came of age in the 1960s, during the Civil Rights movement, and have been riding this same bus to work at the homes of wealthy families in Mountain Brook. © Carolyn Drake | Magnum Photos
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Alec Soth Nome, Alaska. 2015. 82 year old ivory carver James Omiak. © Alec Soth | Magnum Photos
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Larry Towell Holbrook, Arizona. 2015. “Wigwam Motel” tourist attraction (now closed), featuring concrete teepees and old cars north of Apache Reservation on historic Route 66. © Larry Towell | Magnum Photos
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Bruce Gilden Zinc, Arkansas. 2009. Child of members of the Knights Party. © Bruce Gilden | Magnum Photos
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Matt Black Taft, California. 2014. A man downtown. © Matt Black | Magnum Photos
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Alec Soth Outside Silverton, Colorado. 2013. © Alec Soth | Magnum Photos
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Jim Goldberg New Haven, Connecticut. 2014. © Jim Goldberg | Magnum Photos
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Peter van Agtmael Dover, Delaware. 2010. 'Transfer cases' with the remains of Army Spc. Ian T.D. Gelig, (L) and William 'Seth' Ricketts (R) are unloaded onto U.S. soil at a dignified transfer ceremony at Dover Air F (...)
orce base. © Peter van Agtmael | Magnum Photos
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Christopher Anderson Tampa, FL. 2012. Florida sheriff dept. control protests outside the RNC. © Christopher Anderson | Magnum Photos
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Carolyn Drake Atlanta, Georgia. 2015. Portraits on Easter Sunday at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Sr. and Jr. preached. The church is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. © Carolyn Drake | Magnum Photos
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Raymond Depardon Wai Ki Ki Beach, Honolulu. 2013. © Raymond Depardon | Magnum Photos
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Carolyn Drake Gooding, Idaho. 2016. Johnny Pavkov on the family's ranch. © Carolyn Drake | Magnum Photos
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Peter van Agtmael Aurora, Illinois. 2015. The Al Hajali family at a new suburban development down the road from their home. From L to R: Ahmad, Mahmud, Azizeh, Mohamed, Sham. The Al Hajali's are part of the small w (...)
ave of 2,200 Syrian Refugees of the civil war who have been granted asylum in the United States. Their son, Wasseem, was initially granted asylum but his application has been put on indefinite hold. Father Mahmud, daughter Sham and twin 17-year old sons Ahmad and Mohamed work long hours at minimum wage to make ends meet. © Peter van Agtmael | Magnum Photos
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Alex Webb Indianapolis, Indiana. 2014. Andrew Luck (Indianapolis Colts quarterback) wall painting. © Alex Webb | Magnum Photos
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Bruce Gilden Des Moines, Iowa. 2014. Arm wrestling at the Iowa State Fair. © Bruce Gilden | Magnum Photos
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Alec Soth Kansas. 2011. Green Rebuilding of Greensburg. © Alec Soth | Magnum Photos
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Martin Parr Kentucky. 2015. Kentucky Derby. © Martin Parr | Magnum Photos
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Alec Soth New Orleans, Louisiana. 2015. Ten years after Hurricane Katrina. Rodger (Paw) Ford, 10, at Lake Pontchartrain. © Alec Soth | Magnum Photos
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Constantine Manos Bangor, Maine. 2009. © Constantine Manos | Magnum Photos
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Peter van Agtmael Baltimore, Maryland. 2010. West Baltimore from a passing train. © Peter van Agtmael | Magnum Photos
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Bruno Barbey Cape Cod, Provincetown, Massachusetts. 2014. © Bruno Barbey | Magnum Photos
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Bruce Gilden Detroit, Michigan. March, 2009. House. © Bruce Gilden | Magnum Photos
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Alec Soth Minneapolis, Minnesota. 2014. A lockdown drill interrupted an eighth-grade gym class at Belle Plaine High School. The drills are intended to address the threat of school shootings. © Alec Soth | Magnum Photos
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Peter van Agtmael Corinth, Mississippi. 2010. The coffin of William 'Seth' Ricketts after his funeral. © Peter van Agtmael | Magnum Photos
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Alec Soth Cape Girardeau, Missouri. 2009. Intruder response training. © Alec Soth | Magnum Photos
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Larry Towell Crow Indian Reservation, Montana. August, 2012. Local dancers. The Crow Indian Reservation (Tipi Capital of the World) boasts 1500 tipis during its annual powwow where residents erect and move into (...)
canvas tipis for the week participating in rodeo and powwow events. © Larry Towell | Magnum Photos
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Jim Goldberg Near Omaha, Nebraska. 2012. Shelter outside of Omaha, NE. © Jim Goldberg | Magnum Photos
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Susan Meiselas Las Vegas, Nevada. 2011. © Susan Meiselas | Magnum Photos
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Peter van Agtmael Concord, New Hampshire. 2016. Attendee at a Jeb Bush town hall at the Abbot-Downing school before the New Hampshire primary. Donald Trump ultimately won the Republican primary and Bernie Sanders wo (...)
n the Democratic. © Peter van Agtmael | Magnum Photos
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Bruce Gilden Camden, New Jersey. July, 2014. On Broadway. © Bruce Gilden | Magnum Photos
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Matt Black Gallup, New Mexico. 2015. Flea market. Gallup has a population of 21,678 and 21.9% live below the poverty level. © Matt Black | Magnum Photos
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Max Pinckers New York City, New York. September 11th; 2016. The World Trade Center site during the 15th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. © Max Pinckers | Magnum Photos
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Christopher Anderson Charlotte, NC. 2012. Delegates at the DNC. © Christopher Anderson | Magnum Photos
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Alec Soth Downtown Williston, North Dakota. 2012. (Left to Right) Dirk Ross, Matt Kingsley, Dan Bashore. Bus stop. Matt and Dan from Michigan waiting for bus to Montana to go work on the mountain. © Alec Soth | Magnum Photos
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Bruce Gilden Columbus, Ohio. 2014. In the Bottoms neighborhood. © Bruce Gilden | Magnum Photos
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Peter van Agtmael Idabel, Oklahoma. 2014. Thomas Blakely, half Choctaw and half African American. He lives with his mom and stepfather in the poor, rural town of Idabel. He is prone to temper issues, getting into (...)
fights in high school and frequent emotional outbursts. At home he's very polite and friendly and has a close relationship with his mom, Wilanda. © Peter van Agtmael | Magnum Photos
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Alec Soth Portland, Oregon. 2015. Walking Woodlawn Triangle with Leonard. © Alec Soth | Magnum Photos
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Matt Black York, Pennsylvania. 2015. Rainstorm. York has a population of 43,718 and 37.1% live below the poverty level. © Matt Black | Magnum Photos
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Chien-Chi Chang Woonsocket, Rhode Island. 2009. © Chien-Chi Chang | Magnum Photos
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Peter van Agtmael South Carolina. Recruits at Fort Jackson participate in a Physical Training (PT) test. 2011. © Peter van Agtmael | Magnum Photos
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Peter van Agtmael Manderson, South Dakota. 2014. Officer Becki Sotherland helps up an old woman passed out in front of a store. She was taken to the 'Drunk Tank' for eight hours and released. Pine Ridge Reservation (...)
has a massive problem with alcoholism. Although alcohol sales are banned on the reservation, the nearby border town of Whiteclay, Nebraska has four liquor stores, which sold over 4.9 million cans of beer in 2010 to mostly Oglala Lakota from Pine Ridge. Alcoholism is estimated to affect 85 per cent of the families. (source: Wikipedia). © Peter van Agtmael | Magnum Photos
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Peter van Agtmael Tennessee. 2015. The wedding of two members of the KKK in a barn in rural Tennessee. © Peter van Agtmael | Magnum Photos
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Matt Black McAllen, Texas. 2015. A family from Honduras detained at the border. McAllen has a population of 129,877 and 26.7% live below the poverty level. © Matt Black | Magnum Photos
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Jim Goldberg Provo, Utah. 2012. On the grounds of the Provo Utah Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. © Jim Goldberg | Magnum Photos
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Matt Black Burlington, Vermont. 2015. Burlington has a population of 42,417 and 25.1% live below the poverty level. © Matt Black | Magnum Photos
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Peter van Agtmael Wakefield, Virginia. 2009. Political signs line the road to the annual Shad Planking, a political event in Southern Virginia that kicks off the Gubernatorial race. Rival candidates vie to place the (...)
most signs along the route. Democratic candidate Terry McAullife won, but later lost in the primaries. © Peter van Agtmael | Magnum Photos
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Alec Soth Logan, West Virginia. Rainbow over Downtown Logan. © Alec Soth | Magnum Photos
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Alessandra Sanguinetti Hixton, Wisconsin. 2014. Boy Scouts. © Alessandra Sanguinetti | Magnum Photos
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Peter van Agtmael Hulett, Wyoming. 2013. Main street. © Peter van Agtmael | Magnum Photos
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Carolyn Drake Lyle, Washington. 2015. Shane on lunch break at Country Cafe. He is a fisheries biologist in Lyle Falls. © Carolyn Drake | Magnum Photos
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Covering the period of President Obama’s administration (2008-2016), we present a portrait of life in the United States, as captured by Magnum photographers. This slideshow paints an authored portrait of everyday life, from prosaic acts like travelling to work, to ceremonial gestures of patriotism. From the urban hustle to the expansive rural plains, Magnum Photographs capture vignettes of the previous eight years across all of America’s 50 states.

















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Fine Collectors’ Prints
Alec Soth
, Alessandra Sanguinetti
, Alex Webb
, America
, Bruce Gilden
, Bruno Barbey
, Carolyn Drake
, Chien-Chi Chang
, Christopher Anderson
, Constantine Manos
, Jim Goldberg
, Larry Towell
, Martin Parr
, Matt Black
, Max Pinckers
, Obama
, Peter van Agtmael
, Politics
, Raymond Depardon
, Susan Meiselas
, United States