Homes Fit For Heroes - Bill Brandt

Between 1939 and 1943, Bill Brandt undertook a commission from the Bournville Village Trust to photograph housing and living conditions in Birmingham. The images contrasted life in the 19th century built back-to-back slums of the inner city with the modern municipal housing built in the 1930s.

Brandt manipulated the composition and lighting to intensify the contrasts. The modern home is flooded with light and air, whilst the family eats good food, some of which will have been grown in their own garden. In the slum housing there is little light and the food on the table is meager, but Brandt is careful not to denigrate the family in any way, they are just as hard working and loving as the more fortunate parents. Interestingly Brandt had suffered from TB in his childhood and would have understood too well the importance of fresh air and sunlight.

The photographs were never used and lay undiscovered in the BVT archives for 60 years before going on display again in Birmingham.