NAME: AIMEN AHMED

ROLL NO.: F2021-043

MEMORY: VISUAL CULTURE THROUGH TIME

(TUTORIAL ASSIGNMENT)

LUNCH ATOP OF A SKYSCRAPER

Lunch atop a Skyscraper is an iconic photograph taken in 1932 of 11 construction workers seated along a
crossbeam. The photograph depicts 11 men eating lunch, seated on a girder with their feet dangling 840
feet (260 meters) above the New York City streets. The photograph was taken on September 20, 1932,
on the 69th floor of the RCA Building during the last months of construction. According to archivists, the
photograph was prearranged. Although the photograph shows real ironworkers, it is believed that the
moment was staged by Rockefeller Center to promote its new skyscraper. The photo appeared in the
Sunday photo supplement of the New York Herald Tribune on October 2, 1932.

There were three news photographers shooting that day, Charles Ebbets, Thomas Kelley, and William
Leftwich. Formerly attributed to "unknown" and often misattributed to Lewis Hine, it was credited to
Charles C. Ebbets in 2003. Evidence confirming his authorship held in the Ebbets' Estate archives include
original work orders showing invoices to Rockefeller Center for the time period surrounding the photo,
letters of recommendation from his work at Rockefeller Center when the photo was taken, a copy of the
original article from the NY Herald Tribune when the photo first appeared in 1932 in his own scrapbook
of his work, photos from his office in NY taken in 1932 showing the image on a bulletin board display of
his work, and a negative of him at work on the site that day. Alternative candidates mentioned as
possibly having taken the photo include two other photographers, William Leftwich and Thomas Kelley,
who were seen in Rockefeller Center images around that time, but no evidence has ever been produced
that either one of them took the image. Ebbets was also documented to have been an independent
contractor working at the time with the Hamilton Wright Jr. ad agency, which is known to have been
hired by Rockefeller Center in 1932 to help with PR for the project.