I also find Walker Evans to be a very 'difficult' photographer, much like Atget.
It took me a while to understand his work, and even now, I don’t think I fully appreciate it. If you were to show his photographs to most people who aren't deeply into photography, I believe the response would be something like, 'So, what?' It’s one of those bodies of work that challenges you, and even when you grasp it, it’s not always easy to admire.
I would like also to give some of Walker Evans quotes that could explain his approach and moreover link him to Atget somehow
"I consider photography to be a very difficult act, as you want to achieve something both suggestive and at the same time mysterious and realistic. And this is something important and rare. Almost accidental. It resembles hunting, where again you shoot to kill."
"I believe that most artists actually work for a very small audience."
"The secret of photography is that the camera takes on the character and personality of the one holding it. The spirit works through the camera. Better yet, it works within it. The true photographer who is an artist will not present a romantic photograph, as so many others have done, trying with tricks to disguise photography and push it toward painting—something ridiculous. Photography must have the courage to present itself for what it is, namely a composition created by the camera and the eye with chemicals and paper."
"Anyone with faith and cultivation will show it in their work. Good photography is precise, and that’s how it should be. It reflects cultivation, if there is cultivation. For this reason, until recently, photography didn’t have status, as it was usually made by uncultivated individuals. I remember always saying in my lessons that students should seek education and a cultured life. And by doing so, they would make better photographs."