Louise Rosskam

• Name — Louise Rosskam • Birth Name — Louise Rosenbaum • Born — 27 March 1910 • Died — 1 April 2003 • Spouse — Edwin Rosskam • Education — University of Pennsylvania • Occupation — photographer • Known for — Farm Security Administration series

Louise Rosskam was born into a large Jewish family, the youngest of eight children in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1910. Her father was Morris Rosenbaum, who had emigrated from Hungary at age fourteen. Her mother was Hannah Rottenberg from New York. In 1929, Louise met Edwin Rosskam, an artist and aspiring photographer who would help Louise develop her talent. In 1933, Louise graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Biology.

• Illustration — Shulman's Market in the Southwest Waterfront neighborhood of Washington D.C., by Louise Rosskam, 1941 or 1942 During their careers, Louise and her husband Edwin worked as photographers for the Farm Security Administration, the Office of War Information, the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey, the Puerto Rico Office of Information, and the New Jersey Department of Education. Many of their photos taken while working for the Government agencies are now in the archives of the Library of Congress, and are part of the public domain. In 1948, the Rosskams published Towboat River, a photographic book detailing life on the Mississippi River. Residents of Roosevelt, New Jersey, the Rosskams had two daughters, Anita and Susan. Louise Rosskam died in New Jersey in 2003.