Dorothea Lange

Dorthea Lange has taken one of the most recognizable and influential photographs of all time, called the Migrant Mother. She is well known for this photograph single-handidly and is almost always used to depict the Great Depression era in the history books.

Dorthea Lange grew up in a fairly average household. However, Dorthea actually was diagnosed with Polio in 1902 at the age of 7. Like many others diagnosed with this disease, she had a weakened right leg and she developed a limp that remained with her the rest of her life. The biggest problem for Dorthea came at the age of 12 when her father abandoned the entire family and left her and her mother fighting for themselves. This led Dorthea to go back to her mother’s maiden name.

Dorthea although was a natural photographer, she was also formally educated in the skill of photography as well. She went to school in New York City and was taught by Clarence H. White who was also a very well respected photographer himself. Afterwards, she decided she would open up her own portrait photography studio.

Once the Great Depression began to impact peoples lives, she realized the importance of documenting the problems that people were having. Instead of remaining indoors taking portraits, she decided to head out onto the streets. As she had been reading and studying how many people were struggling to make ends meet, she along with many other photographers were compelled to document the rural poverty.

Through Lange and other photographers work who was documenting all of these troubles that the sharecroppers and displaced farm families were having, it became well aware among the public what was happening. Over time, people began to show these families compassion and had a sincere desire to help them. The government later on was even beginning to get involved and it is rumored that after the Migrant Mother photograph was published and the government saw it that they had sent several thousands pounds worth of food to the location the picture was taken. Although Florence Owens Thompson, the mother photographed had already moved on by the time the food had arrived.

Dorthea Lange did not stop with her proactive approach of helping people after the Great Depression had ended. She was also fighting for the way the American Japenese were being treated during the World War. As they were rounded up and put into camps throughout the war, Lange was standing by documenting the way they were treated for their race with her camera. She also helped bring notice to this and Ronald Reagan, several years later made an official and public apology for the way that the United States government had treated the American Japanese.

Dorthea Lange is still credited with having some of the most influential photographs of all time. She passed away at the age of 70 in 1965 due to esophageal cancer.

I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet. I do not remember how I explained my presence or my camera to her, but I do remember she asked me no questions. I made five exposures, working closer and closer from the same direction. I did not ask her name or her history. She told me her age, that she was thirty-two. She said that they had been living on frozen vegetables from the surrounding fields, and birds that the children killed. She had just sold the tires from her car to buy food. There she sat in that lean-to tent with her children huddled around her, and seemed to know that my pictures might help her, and so she helped me. There was a sort of equality about it.

Filed Under: Famous photographers

Tags: american photographer, documentary photography, photojournalism, video