George Washington Carver, Iowa State’s first African American student and teacher, has been remembered as a scientist who saw the importance of using his gifts to help the progress of others — and there are pictures to prove it.

A collection of photographs taken by Prentice Herman Polk, Tuskegee Institute’s photographer in the early 1900’s, is scheduled to be on display at Iowa State’s Brunnier Art Museum until Jan. 3.

Originally organized by the University of Delaware, the collection was gathered from various collectors of Polk’s work. When the exhibit premiered earlier this year, it gained quite a bit of attention from national radio stations such as NPR.

An ISU faculty member who was visiting the display at the University of Delaware suggested the exhibit as a possible program for ISU’s year long celebration. The university agreed to book the touring exhibit because of ISU’s connection to Carver.

“[The pictures] show the whole spectrum of George Washington Carver’s life,” said Marilyn Vaughan, Communications Specialist for the Brunnier Museum. “There are pictures of him in the classroom, in the lab, out in the world and with celebrities.”

Vaughan said during Carver’s years as a teacher Carver was offered lucrative jobs in corporate America by respected leaders such as Henry Ford that might have gained him more honor and prestige. Instead, Carver chose to stay in the classroom.

One of the main reasons Carver was heavily pursued by such prestigious executives was because he was able to develop new uses for crops, specifically crops related to peanuts.

“[Carver] was pivital in developing the life of the Southern farmer,” Vaughan said.

Vaughan said Polk’s photographs also include pictures of Carver that give observers an idea of his character and personality.

“There are pictures of him doing things outside of his academic work with his Bible study group,” Vaughan said. “And there is a picture of him in front of Congress advocating more money for peanut farmers.”

In addition to the photographs, the exhibit includes “pressed specimens” of work Carver did during his time at ISU. The plant samples, which were supplied by the ISU Herbarium, present a uniquely tangible part of Carver’s work.

“We’re not sure why he collected them, but it’s nice to have a record of his academic journey at Iowa State,” Vaughan said.

Many of Polk’s photographs present a showcase of Carver’s life from different angles, although only 40 out of the 118 in the display are actually pictures of Carver. The collection also includes other pictures Polk took during his time at Tuskegee.

Vaughan said images include a picture of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt together and a picture of Eleanor Roosevelt with a Tuskegee airman. Polk also took many pictures of people from different races and ethnic groups in their different living conditions to show contrasts that existed during his time.

“[Polk’s pictures] illustrate the experiences of those living in shacks to celebrities,” Vaughan said. “It’s really seeing history as it was in that era.”

Although the exhibit will be showing at the Brunnier museum all semester, the official kickoff is scheduled for Thursday, September 10 from 4:30-6:30p.m. at the Brunnier museum. Anyone who is interested is invited to attend.