"Migrant Mother" is a photograph taken by Dorothea Lange in 1936 that depicts a mother and her children during the Great Depression. The photograph has become an iconic symbol of the hardships faced by many families during this time period, and it remains an enduring image of the struggles of the working poor.
The woman in the photograph, Florence Owens Thompson, was a 32-year-old mother of seven children who was living in a makeshift camp with her family near Nipomo, California. They had been forced to leave their home in Oklahoma due to the dust storms and economic hardship of the Great Depression, and were traveling west in search of work.
When Lange arrived at the camp, she saw Thompson sitting in front of a small tent with her children huddled around her. The photograph shows Thompson looking directly at the camera with a determined and resilient expression, while her children look on with tired and anxious faces.
Lange's photograph was published in a magazine called "San Francisco News" and it quickly became a symbol of the struggles faced by many families during the Great Depression. The photograph was used in posters and other propaganda by the Farm Security Administration to raise awareness of the plight of migrant workers and to raise funds for their relief.
The photograph has become an iconic image of the Great Depression and continues to be widely recognized and celebrated today. It is a testament to the strength and resilience of the human spirit, and serves as a reminder of the struggles that many people have faced and continue to face in their pursuit of a better life. So, the painting of Migrant Mother is a very powerful and emotional one, which is able to convey the feelings and struggles of a mother and her children during a difficult time in history.
Migrant Mother, behind the Icon
But out of the corner of my eye I did see it… Having well convinced myself for twenty miles that I could continue on, I did the opposite. Consider the role titles play in your interpretation of this photograph. Photography democratised art by making it more portable, accessible and cheaper. These people had just sold their tent in order to buy food. The mother held her baby in her lap and her two children stood at her sides. I do not remember how I explained my presence or my camera to her, but I do remember she asked me no questions.
In the middle picture you clearly see the mother and the faces of two of her children. Visit Selected Contributors Seeing America is developed and distributed by Smarthistory together with a consortium of museums, including: Smarthistory is a nonprofit organization At Smarthistory we believe art has the power to transform lives and to build understanding across cultures. Yet they could not move on, for she had just sold the tires from the car to buy food. Images of Migrant Mother adorn countless consumer products, from puzzles to postage stamps. I think it perhaps was the most important thing that happened to me, and formed me, guided me, instructed me, helped me and humiliated me. The mother squints into the distance, one hand lifted to her mouth and anxiety etched deep in the lines on her face. What did the migrant mother do to earn money? I was on my way and barely saw a crude sign with pointing arrow which flashed by me at the side of the road, saying PEA-PICKERS CAMP.
The pea crop had frozen; there was no work. Gallery label from 2022 Dorothea Lange took this photograph on assignment for the U. My work was done, time was up, and I was worked out. At the age of seven Lange contracted polio which left her with a weakened right leg and a pronounced limp. Nevertheless, if she was a "Dust Bowl migrant", she would have left a farm as most potential Dust Bowl migrants typically did and then began her life as such. The cause is unknown.
Dorothea Lange. Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California. March 1936
Lange about this shoot in Nipomo, Calif. Why might Lange have composed her photograph to mirror this tradition? I felt freed, for I could lift my mind off my job and think of home. Father is native Californian. Analyze how each position provides different information. Why is the migrant mother in the public domain? But out of the corner of my eye I did see it.
What medium was used in the Migrant Mother? Her photographs, notably White Angel Bread Line 1933 , received immediate recognition and led to a commission in 1935 from the U. Now be reasonable, etc. By doing so, Lange was able to eliminate any possibility of unwanted effects from exchanges and competing countenances. With her hand raised to her mouth in anxious thought and her eyes fixed in a stare of weary searching she is an image of stoic resolve. I do not remember how I explained my presence or my camera to her, but I do remember she asked me no questions. But out of the corner of my eye I did see it.
In an earlier post I noted that one of the most famous American photographs of the twentieth century is in the public domain in the United States since it was taken by Dorothea Lange when she was employed by the Farm Security Administration during the Great Depression. In Lange's fourth photograph, she asks one of the children to enter the frame and to stand with her chin resting on her mother's shoulder. Digital photography has resulted in innovative forms of interpretation. The immediate success of this photograph brought much-needed assistance to these farm workers. For 20 miles Dorothea Lange drove on after seeing the sign PEA-PICKERS CAMP. While they are together, they seem lost in their own thoughts. Soon after the photos were published in the San Francisco News, the U.
The Real Story Behind the ‘Migrant Mother’ Great Depression
Compare images in the series Point out and discuss: On that rainy night in the pea-pickers camp, Dorothea Lange took five pictures closer and closer from the same direction. This was intentional as Lange instructed the two children to turn their backs to the camera and rest their hands on their mother's shoulders. When a reporter interviewed her in the 1970s, she insisted that she and Lange did not speak to each other, nor did she sell the tires of her car. Farming communities suffered immensely as crop prices dropped by about 60%. Migrant Mother Lange photographed Migrant Mother in 1936 in Nipomo, California. In both images the viewer looks slightly upward at their faces, which imbues the women with a sense of nobility and strength. Details from it appear in the captions in the Library of Congress, Ms.
Her studies of demonstrations, protests, and unemployed workers seeking assistance in the early 1930s captured the attention of Roy Stryker, director of the Resettlement Administration. Her plan was to drive home, see her children and send the exposed film to Roy Stryker. At the time, the photograph was named Destitute peapickers in California; a 32-year-old mother of seven children. How did Dorothea Lange impact the nation? But since Lange had been in a hurry to get home, and did not supply her own descriptive captions, picture editors provided their own. Whatever I photograph, I do not molest or tamper with or arrange. This instills a sense of uncertainty in the viewer. In order to promote these initiatives, a publicity department was created to document rural poverty and government efforts to alleviate it.
In reality, photographers exhibit considerable discretion when they are selecting, framing, photographing, and editing their shots. At this distance it is difficult to make out all their features and you are analyzing, and even judging the family, based on their surroundings. Before reading the excerpts above, tell students the title of the piece and ask what is going on in this picture? Even though her studio was successful, Dorothea was restless to photograph the unemployed and homeless people the Depression deposited in the street around her studio. It would compliment and add another dimension to his scientific report. How would you use this photograph to build on one of your units of study? Roosevelt established the Farm Security Administration FSA to help poor farmers and migrant workers. Lange had an assistant retouch the negative and remove Ms. She took a number of pictures of the mother with her children and chose this image as the most effective.
