In the spring of 1944, renowned LIFE magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt turned his lens on a common, yet often stressful, yearly task: filing income taxes. He visited an Internal Revenue information center in New York City and captured striking photographs of ordinary citizens grappling with their tax forms. The resulting images often portray expressions of unhappiness, worry, and concentration on the faces of these wartime taxpayers.
The year 1944 meant the United States was deeply involved in World War II. Funding the massive war effort required significant tax revenue, and income tax rules had been expanded, meaning more people than ever before were required to file returns. Eisenstaedt’s photos were taken inside a busy Internal Revenue office where New Yorkers came seeking help or information to navigate the complexities of their tax obligations during this demanding period. The atmosphere in such a place, especially near the filing deadline, was likely filled with a degree of tension and anxiety.
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Alfred Eisenstaedt was known for his ability to capture genuine human moments, often using small, unobtrusive cameras. For this assignment, he employed a specific technique to photograph the taxpayers naturally without disturbing them. Using a ‘telephoto lens’, which allows photographers to take detailed shots from a distance, he positioned himself about 40 feet away from his subjects. This distance enabled him to capture ‘candid shots’– pictures taken without the subjects posing or necessarily even knowing they were being photographed closely. This method preserved their unscripted expressions and natural body language as they dealt with their paperwork.
The photographs Eisenstaedt took reveal individuals deeply focused on the often confusing task before them. People are seen poring over forms, perhaps biting their lips in concentration, frowning as they try to understand instructions, or rubbing their temples in apparent frustration. The images capture the visual evidence of the mental effort and stress associated with completing tax returns, particularly during a time of national anxiety due to the ongoing war. The dominant mood reflected in many of the pictures is one of seriousness, concern, and perhaps weariness.
