Jacob August Riis was a Danish-American social reformer, journalist, and pioneering social documentary photographer who contributed significantly to the cause of urban reform in the United States at the turn of the twentieth century. After immigrating to New York, Riis experienced poverty firsthand, a difficult personal struggle that deeply shaped his later career as a police reporter focusing on the quality of life in the city's slums. Riis famously used his photographic and journalistic talents to aid impoverished New Yorkers, who became the primary subjects of his prolific writings and photographs.
He sought to alleviate these poor living conditions by exposing them directly to the middle and upper classes. To capture the grim realities of tenement life, Riis became an early proponent of casual photography and was among the first to adopt the newly practicable photographic flash, which allowed him to document dark, cramped interior spaces. In addition to his documentary work, Riis actively campaigned for practical housing solutions, partnering with humanitarian Lawrence Veiller to endorse and promote the implementation of 'model tenements' in New York City.
