Carol M. Highsmith

A stern iowa farmer holding a pitchfork alongside his equally stern-looking wife

Carol Highsmith has donated her life's photography work of tens of thousands of images to the Library of Congress during her decades-long career.  The photography collection at the Library is the most historic photographic collection on earth and includes the work of Dorothea Lange and Frances Benjamin Johnston.  Highsmith has been doing a visual study of America for 40 years and travels the United States for about 10 months a year.

Iowa

People at dinner table traditional Norwegian clothing gather at Vesterheim, Decorah, Iowa

Women in traditional Norwegian clothing gather at Vesterheim, Decorah, Iowa

Woman showing Norwegian book to girl, at Vesterheim, Decorah, Iowa

People in traditional Norwegian clothing at Vesterheim, Decorah, Iowa

Wind turbines in Franklin County, Iowa

A bright-red freight wagon and bright-yellow cabin,  near the town of Dike, Iowa

Rusted remains of a vintage tractor at the Hardin County Farm Museum, Eldora, Iowa

Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Sherrill, Iowa

The Town Clock on Main Street in downtown Dubuque, Iowa

At the original Lansing Farm site in Dyersville, Iowa

One of several elaborate carvings outside the Hindu Temple and Cultural Center, Madrid, Iowa

The Hindu Temple and Cultural Center, Madrid, Iowa

A steam train operated by the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad, Boone County, Iowa

“Butter cow" sculpture,  Iowa State Fair, Des Moines, Iowa

A carousel ride, at Iowa State Fair, Des Moines, Iowa

Amusement-park ride at the annual Iowa State Fair, Des Moines, Iowa

Artistic corncobs, Vinton, Iowa

The Old Stone Capitol, a former Iowa capitol building in Iowa City, Iowa

An Amish or Mennonite woman, with horse cart, Washington County, Iowa

Parked Amish horse and buggy in Kalona, Iowa

Water tank and crude windmill in Iowa County, Iowa

An Amish or Mennonite man, with horse cart, Washington County, Iowa

Red barn at an Amish farm outside Kalona, Iowa

Small storage building in South Amana, Iowa

Barns in South Amana, Iowa

Woman offers a plate of freshly baked Czech pastries at the Sykora Bakery,  Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Hogs in the "finishing shed," Benton County, Iowa

Dean Folkmann's operates a tractor, Benton County, near Newhall, Iowa

Pigpen on Dean and Julie Folkmann's hog farm in Benton County, Iowa

The Madison County Courthouse in Winterset, Iowa

Falls cascade below the Iowa Women of Achievement Bridge, Des Moines, Iowa

Robert D. Ray Asian Gardens,  Des Moines, Iowa

"A Veteran's Prayer for Eternal Peace," Des Moines, Iowa

Falls below the Iowa Women of Achievement Bridge, Des Moines, Iowa

Hot air balloons landing at night, Des Moines, Iowa

State Capitol, Des Moines, Iowa

Spanish artist Jaume Plensa's "Nomade" sculpture in Des Moines, Iowa

Plantoir" trowel, Des Moines, Iowa

The Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa

One of several exhibits that follow a truck theme, Sioux City Art Center, Sioux City, Iowa

The Ruth Ann Dodge Memorial, in Council Bluffs, Iowa

Block of structures along Main Street built in the early 1900s, Council Bluffs, Iowa

A sidewalk tile depicting the local Dohaney Opera House in Council Bluffs, Iowa

The old Creston House was formerly a hotel built in 1884 by Max Mohn, Council Bluffs, Iowa

"Molecule Man,” Council Bluffs, Iowa

Hay rolls, Iowa

Joshua Secrest's octagonal barn near West Branch, Iowa

John D. Van Allen's "House of Fashion,” Clinton, Iowa

Figures, roughly modeled after artist Grant Wood's "American Gothic" figures, Cedar Rapids, Iowa