Trolley - New Orleans, 1955 by Robert Frank

'Black and white are the colors of photography. To me they symbolize the alternatives of hope and despair to which mankind is forever subjected'. Robert Frank

Meet Robert Frank. In 1955 he traveled across his new adopted home, America and photographed what he saw. Coming from a Jewish family which survived the second World War in Europe and lived to dream the nightmares, he was certainly equipped with an empathic eye. With the push of a button the American dream was shattered and a realism ensued. Frank captured all levels of society, giving a hugely refreshing insight into the often bleak and lonely existence of America's citizens who were living in an increasingly consumer driven society. This photograph, taken in New Orleans captured the segregation of white and blacks on public transport from an interesting angle; from the outside looking in.

Butte, Montana by Robert Frank

A beaut indeed. Unsurprisingly Frank's depictions were not well received stateside. 83 of the 28,000 shots were selected and published in a book simply called 'Les Américains' by Robert Delpire in Paris in 1958. The following year the American edition was published with an introduction by the beat poet and writer Jack Kerouac, whom Frank had met on a side walk after a party. He showed him his photographs and Kerouac agreed to write about them.

Candy Store - New York City by Robert Frank

"Everybody get on your feet, you make me nervous when you're in your seat" ('Barefootin', Robert Parker)

Frank had a fascination with juke boxes or rather a fascination with the American's fascination with juke boxes. They seemed to bring people together.

Funeral - St. Helena, South Carolina by Robert Frank

Robert Frank's photographs managed to capture the tensions between race and class in America in the 1950s, which popular culture at the time was glossing over with an unrealistic optimism. Though sales were slow at first, Jack Kerouac's introduction to Frank's book brought in a wider audience. 'The Americans' became a seminal piece of documentary evidence, capturing the history of American culture and influencing many great artists and photographers.