Born in Wisconsin in 1874, Lewis Hine had no formal artistic training. He worked in a furniture upholstery factory as a young man in the 1890s and studied education. These experiences directly influenced his work for the National Child Labor Committee. Images like this one helped reform American child labor laws. Hine once remarked, "I like to call my photographs detective work, revealing the disturbing truth of the life of everyday workers." Hine also worked for the American Red Cross during the Great Depression, photographing drought relief in the South.