The New Deal in the New West: On the Road with Arthur Rothstein in Nevada

Exhibit illustrates the year 1940 as turning point for the state of Nevada from ranching and mining to tourism, recreation, and gaming

LAS VEGAS (September 12, 2025) – The Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas, located on the campus of the Las Vegas Springs Preserve at 309 S. Valley View Blvd., has announced their newest exhibit, The New Deal in the New West: On the Road with Arthur Rothstein in Nevada. The exhibit opens on September 27 and remains open until March 23, 2026.

Working with The Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Department, the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas curated 35 images of Las Vegas and the surrounding area from the 1940 iconic publication, Nevada: A Guide to the Silver State. This publication was a culmination of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) project under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal Federal Writers’ Project.

In the spring of 1940, Government photographer Arthur Rothstein (full bio below) photographed Nevada on assignment for the Federal Farm Security Administration and provided almost one third of the images in the heavily illustrated Nevada guidebook. This exhibition combines Rothstein’s photographs with objects from the Museum’ s extensive historical collection to offer a window into this pivotal year in Nevada’s history.

In addition to the prints and artifacts, personal belongings on loan from The Arthur Rothstein Legacy Project foundation such as clothing, tripods, cameras, flashes, traveling trunk, and even a Coleman-type camp stove will be displayed in special exhibition casework.

“The inclusion of his personal belongings illustrates Mr. Rothstein’s assignments as real adventures in the days before the interstate highway system was built,” said Curator Josef Diaz. “Additionally, they put a ‘time stamp’ on the exhibit that helps orient the viewer in time,” he added.

Mr. Rothstein’s daughter Annie Segan and husband Brodie Hefner run The Arthur Rothstein Legacy Project foundation. She is giving a talk on her father’s work and legacy on Saturday September 27, at 2:00 p.m.  The talk is free with admission.

A special preview event is planned for September 26, 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. at the museum. Friends of the NSMLV will host the opening party for members of the museum. To become a member, visit the museum’s website, lasvegasnvmuseum.org, for the online form to complete. Memberships start at $25.

Historically speaking, the year 1940 was a time of transition for Nevada. At this time, mining towns were shrinking and a new culture with the introduction of legalized gaming was emerging. President Roosevelt had invested heavily in Nevada during the Great Depression. His New Deal programs employed thousands of Nevada residents to build roads, parks, utilities, and public buildings. These new public works helped support a growing economy centered on recreation, tourism, and stewardship of the State’s vast natural resources.

Under the WPA, the New Deal Federal Writers’ Project had hired unemployed writers, editors, and historians to craft a series of state guidebooks. The Nevada Historical Society coordinated the production of Nevada: A Guide to the Silver State, published in 1940. The state guidebooks supported FDR’s Proclamation that 1940 would be “Travel America Year.”

The City of Las Vegas Centennial Commission is a contributing sponsor of this exhibit, funded by sales of the Las Vegas License Plate.

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Arthur Rothstein Bio

New York City native and photographer Arthur Rothstein produced documentary photographs that endure as iconic images of the 20th century. During the 1930s, he created an indelible visual record of America on assignment for the U.S. Farm Security Administration. His photo essays documented the plight of industrial workers displaced by the Great Depression, farmers ruined by drought, Dust Bowl migrants, and President Roosevelt’s New Deal government programs designed to assist them.

In 1943, Rothstein enlisted in the war, he became chief photographer in China for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), charged with documenting the organization’s relief and assistance to people displaced by war and famine. In April of 1946, on assignment for UNRRA, he recorded an intimate photographic portrait of the stranded community of European Jews who had escaped Nazi oppression by fleeing to Japanese occupied Shanghai.

Over the next forty years, Rothstein was an influential and award-winning photojournalist. In the post-war years, when picture magazines embodied the cultural transformation and turmoil of the baby-boom generation, he served as director of photography for Look and Parade — two of the largest-circulation publications in America.

He authored nine books and countless articles on photography, taught photojournalism and mentored many young photographers. His photographs are now in the permanent collections of major museums throughout the world.

Arthur Rothstein’s parents and grandparents found refuge and freedom in America escaping the anti-Semitic pogroms of eastern Europe. This family history was an inspiration for his career as a social documentary photographer, writer, photojournalist and teacher.

Rothstein had a lifelong dedication to promoting photography as a means of enriching American culture and focusing attention on important social issues. His sensitive images of people and communities displaced by forces beyond their control created a permanent record; a timeless reminder that new generations must never forget the plight of the dispossessed.

Photographs for non-commercial publication.

About the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas 

Founded in 1982, the mission of the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas, serves to educate a diverse public about the history and natural history of Nevada. The museum collects, preserves, exhibits, and disseminates material that contributes to an understanding and appreciation of the state. For more information, visit https://www.lasvegasnvmuseum.org/ 

Click here for photos of the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas.

Click here for generic b-roll video of the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas.

Nevada State Museum Media Contact:

Francine Burge
Marketing & Communications Manager, Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs
(775) 230-5258 | fburge@dtca.nv.gov

Las Vegas Media Contact:

Lauren Hudman
Elle Marketing
(702) 283-1414 | lauren@ellemktg.com