Ruthenian Woman from the former Kingdom of Ruthenian, which once covered an area from Ukraine to northern Romania

As a registry clerk with the Immigration Division of Ellis Island, Augustus F. Sherman photographed more than 200 families, groups, and individuals as customs held them for special investigations. This image was chosen in collaboration with the Statue of Liberty National Monument and the Ellis Island Immigration Museum and is from the book Ellis Island Portraits 1905—1920. It is one of Sherman's many striking portraits, which predate August Sander's cataloging efforts by several years.

Archival Pigment Print
Paper Size: 14 x 11 inches
Image Size: 12 x 8 1/2 inches
Edition of 500 and 1 Artist’s Proof
Stamped: Courtesy of the Statue of Liberty National Monument, National Park Service

Augustus F. Sherman (b. 1865, Lynn Township, Pennsylvania; d. 1925, New York, New York) was in a senior clerical position at Ellis Island from 1895 to his death in 1925. He was regarded as third in command, and in 1916, Sherman assumed the role of managing routine affairs on the island. Although he never received formal training, he created hundreds of photographs of the newcomers to America using a tripod and long exposures.