The Brazilian Photographs of Genevieve Naylor, 1940-1942

	Genevieve Naylor São Januário Trolley (Rio de Janeiro)

As the conflict between the Axis and the Allies spread worldwide, the U.S. State Department turned its attention to Latin America. To cultivate the region's support for the Allies while portraying Brazil an its neighbors as dependable wartime partner, the State Department created the Office of Inter-American Affairs, with Nelson Rockefeller in charge. Photojournalist Genevieve Naylor was sent to Brazil in 1940 by Rockefeller's agency to provide propaganda photographs. Often balking at her mundane assignments, the independent-minded Naylor produced something far different and far more rich - a stunning collection of images that document a rarely seen period in Brazilian history.