migrant mother dorothea lange

[18], In the same month the U.S. stamp was issued, a print of the photograph with Lange's handwritten notes and signature sold in 1998 for $244,500 at Sotheby's New York. I did not ask her name or her history. During the course of her 40-year career, Lange’s style as a photographer proposed that social documentary photography is a humanist art form. As a whole, the photographs taken for the Resettlement Administration "have been widely heralded as the epitome of documentary photography." Lange on "Migrant Mother" "It was raining, the camera bags were packed, and I had on the seat beside me in the car the results of my long trip, the box containing all those rolls and packs of exposed film ready to mail back to Washington. Migrant Mother, 1936 Lange had just completed a month-long photographic assignment and was driving back home in a wind-driven rain when she came upon a sign for the camp. Florence Owens Thompson (born Florence Leona Christie; September 1, 1903 – September 16, 1983) was the subject of Dorothea Lange's famous photograph Migrant Mother (1936), an iconic image of the Great Depression. That's one thing she did do. February [sic: March] 1936. After all those letters came in, I think it gave us a sense of pride."[3]. [7], Lange's field notes for the Resettlement Administration were typically very thorough, but on this particular day she had been rushing to get home after a month on assignment, and the notes she submitted with this batch of negatives do not refer to any of the seven photographs she took of Thompson and her family. "The Assignment I’ll Never Forget". I done a little bit of everything to make a living for my kids. They soon had their first daughter, Violet, followed by a second daughter, Viola, and a son, Leroy (Troy). [21] By September, the family had collected $35,000 in donations to pay for her medical care. By 1931, Thompson was pregnant with her sixth child, when her husband Cleo died of tuberculosis. Finally, in 1978, a reporter from the Modesto Bee found the Migrant Mother, tracking her down to a trailer park outside Modesto, California. She said that they had been living on frozen vegetables from the surrounding fields, and birds that the children killed. Follow the link to read the collection rights statement. Afterward Lange informed the authorities of the plight of those at the encampment, and they sent 20,000 pounds of food. Years later, Thompson told an interviewer that when she cooked food for her children that day, other children appeared from the pea pickers' camp asking, "Can I have a bite? According to Thompson, Lange promised the photos would never be published. I made five exposures, working closer and closer from the same direction. Dorothea Lange Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California March 1936 Not on view For many, Lange’s Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California is the single most recognizable image from the Great Depression, epitomizing the desperate circumstances many found themselves in during that period. She didn't ask my name. [17] The stamp printing was unusual, as daughters Katherine McIntosh (on the left in the stamp) and Norma Rydlewski (in Thompson's arms in the stamp) were alive at the time of the printing; usually, the Postal Service does not print stamps of individuals who have not been dead for at least 10 years. The family lived on a small farm in Indian Territory outside of Tahlequah. [3] A notice had been sent out for pickers, but the crops had been destroyed by freezing rain, leaving them without work or pay. Dorothea Lange's 1936 photograph of a worried migrant mother is the single most iconic image of the Great Depression. In many ways, Migrant Mother is not typical of Lange's careful method of interacting with her subject. Have a question? [11] Thompson and her family had moved on by the time the food arrived,[11] and were working near Watsonville, California. Or she was borrowing to fill in what she didn't have. Dorothea Lange captured suffering of itinerant workers near Nipomo. Both her parents were of Cherokee descent. The Library of Congress titled the image: "Destitute pea pickers in California. The others were marvelous, but that was special ... . In addition to this work assignment, however, Lange also found herself working on a personal project: photographing the real-life effects of the Great Depression. [11], Though Thompson's 10 children bought her a house in Modesto, California in the 1970s, Thompson found she preferred living in a mobile home and moved back into one. I cooked. (From: Lange's "The Assignment I'll Never Forget: Migrant Mother," Popular Photography, Feb. 1960). Dorothea Lange's famous 'Migrant Mother' Depression photograph, taken in Nipomo, and others collect almost $300,000 at auction. "Unraveling the Mysteries of Dorothea Lange's 'Migrant Mother, "Video featuring interview with Florence Thompson", "Florence Owen Thompson: audio from interview". She said: "We never had a lot, but she always made sure we had something. Destitute in a pea pickers camp because of the failure of the early pea crop. (35.24 x 27.94 cm) (mount) Type: Photograph Photo of poverty sells for a stack of riches", "Famous Pictures Magazine – Depression Mother". There are no known restrictions on the use of Lange's "Migrant Mother" images. Migrant Mother: Dorothea Lange and the Truth of Photography. Lange’s most famous photograph almost didn’t happen, and its lasting impact was something of a mystery to her. Dorothea Lange, American documentary photographer whose portraits of displaced farmers during the Great Depression greatly influenced later documentary and journalistic photography. The photograph that has become known as "Migrant Mother" is one of a series of photographs that Dorothea Lange made of Florence Owens Thompson and her children in March of 1936 in Nipomo, California. [3], On March 6, 1936, after picking beets in the Imperial Valley, Thompson and her family were traveling on U.S. Highway 101 towards Watsonville "where they had hoped to find work in the lettuce fields of the Pajaro Valley. [16] After the death of Hendrie and his wife, their daughter, Marian Tankersley, rediscovered the photos while emptying her parents' San Jose home. The original negatives are 4x5" film. She said that they had been living on frozen vegetables from the surrounding fields and birds that the children killed. There's no way we sold our tires, because we didn't have any to sell. Extended captions and supplementary textual files relating to this series in the FSA Written Records have not been found. Sally Stein, ‘Passing Likeness: Dorothea Lange’s “Migrant Mother” and the Paradox of Iconicity’, in Only Skin Deep: Changing Visions of the American Self, exhibition catalogue, International Centre of Photography, New York 2004, pp.345–55, reproduced p.344. She is immortal." However, the picture did help make Lange a celebrity and earned her "respect from her colleagues. Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother is widely recognized as the most popular social documentary photograph of all time. [3], Aged 17, Thompson married Cleo Owens, a 23-year-old farmer's son from Stone County, Missouri, on February 14, 1921. Migrant Mother became the most iconic image of the 160,000 Dorothea Lange took to document the Great Depression. She told me her age, that she was 32. She never did. There, Thompson met Jim Hill, with whom she had three more children. Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California, has become an enduring icon since its making in 1936.Taken while Lange was working for the Farm Security Administration documenting the hardships of the Great Depression, Migrant Mother combines the photographer’s characteristic respect and empathy for her subjects with her compositional rigor. There was a sort of equality about it. Well after World War II, Thompson met and married hospital administrator George Thompson. Dorothea Lange's famous "Migrant Mother" photograph. ", Thompson's identity was discovered in the late 1970s. English: The "Migrant Mother" — renowned image by photographer Dorothea Lange, of Florence Owens Thompson in 1936. Nipomo, California", "A true picture of hard times. Dorothea Lange Migrant Mother. Postal Service stamp in the 1930s portion of the Celebrate the Century series. David Hodge January 2015. Dorothea Lange was an American documentary photographer and photojournalist. In the 1930s, Lange worked as a photographer for the Farm Security Administration. Lange was concluding a month's trip photographing migratory farm labor around the state for what was then the Resettlement Administration. Her name was … [19] In November 2002, Dorothea Lange's personal print of Migrant Mother sold at Christie's New York for $141,500. This marriage brought her far greater financial security than she had previously enjoyed. During the 1930s, the family worked as migrant farm workers following the crops in California and at times into Arizona. As she waited, photographer Dorothea Lange, working for the Resettlement Administration, drove up and started taking photos of Thompson and her family. The present lot is a gelatin print of photojournalist Dorothea Lange most famous image "Migrant Mother", taken while Lange was on assignment with the Resettlement Administration to document the plight of poor farmers during the Great Depression. Learn more about the piece and artist, and its final selling price "[1], Florence Owens Thompson was born Florence Leona Christie on September 1, 1903, in Indian Territory, present-day Oklahoma. Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother" Photographs in the Farm Security Administration Collection, Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information collection overview, Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information black-and-white negatives rights statement. Use our online form to ask a librarian for help. She told me her age, that she was thirty-two. Lange's photographs influenced the development of documentary photography and humanized the consequences of the Great Depression. Lange took seven photos that day, the last being the famous Migrant Mother. I did not ask her name or her history. 23 years later, Lange wrote of the encounter with Thompson:[10]. We've all heard the famous expression that a picture is worth a thousand words. Created: 1998 "[25], Son Troy Owens said that more than 2,000 letters received along with donations for his mother's medical fund led to a re-appraisal of the photo: "For Mama and us, the photo had always been a bit of [a] curse. "Florence Thompson, 'Migrant Mother,' Dies". Thompson later recalled periods when she picked 400–500 pounds (180–230 kg) of cotton from first daylight until after it was too dark to work. By Lennard Davis. Migrant Mother Series of Images Note: Two images showing the mother and children in the tent, taken at a medium range and from an angle, apparently were never received by the Library of Congress. However, it is, unmistakably, the mother from that photograph. Mother of seven children. [16], In 1998, the retouched photo of Migrant Mother became a 32-cent U.S. Mother of seven children. Hanna Soltys, Reference Librarian, Prints & Photographs Division To me, it was the picture ... . Title: Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California; Date Created: 1936; origin: United States; Physical Dimensions: w10.31 x h13.31 in (image) Photographer: Dorothea Lange; Measurements: 13 5/16 x 10 5/16 in. Nipomo, California." Thompson then worked in the fields and in restaurants to support her six children. “The Assignment I’ll Never Forget.”. Age thirty-two. Edward Steichen described them as "the most remarkable human documents ever rendered in pictures. [3] In 1933, Thompson had another child, returned to Oklahoma for a time, and then was joined by her parents as they migrated to Shafter, California, north of Bakersfield. Mother of seven children. Editor: [3], While Thompson's identity was not known for over 40 years after the photos were taken, the photos became famous. "[3] As Lange was funded by the federal government when she took the picture, the image was public domain, and Lange was not entitled to royalties. She took seven images in the course of ten minutes. Learn more about Lange’s life and career. I worked in the fields. Commissioned to document the impact of federal programs intended to improve rural communities, she was sent to locations across the country. Dorothea Lange (born Dorothea Margaretta Nutzhorn; May 26, 1895 – October 11, 1965) was an American documentary photographer and photojournalist, best known for her Depression-era work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA). Authors: [15], In the late 1960s, Bill Hendrie found the original Migrant Mother photograph along with 31 other unretouched, vintage photos by Dorothea Lange in a dumpster at the San Jose Chamber of Commerce. She didn't eat sometimes, but she made sure us children ate. Roy Stryker called Migrant Mother the "ultimate" photo of the Depression Era: "[Lange] never surpassed it. [11] Within days, the pea-picker camp received 20,000 pounds (9,100 kg) of food from the federal government. But “Dorothea Lange: Migrant Mother,” a new book from the Museum of Modern Art, offers fresh insights as it weaves a compelling tale about some little-explored details. The Library of Congress titled the image: "Destitute pea pickers in California. Destitute peapickers in California; a 32 year old mother of seven children. The failure of the Great Depression sure we had were on the Hudson and we off... Lived on a small farm in Indian Territory outside of Tahlequah many as 2,500 to 3,500 Migrant workers starving! Recounted: [ 3 ] plight of those at the encampment, and others collect almost 300,000... That Migrant Mother ” has become an icon of the early pea crop my... [ 8 ] for example, one of Thompson 's sons,:... Administration collection ever rendered in pictures Dies '' for what was then the Resettlement Administration father is a picture worth! Era: `` [ Lange ] had n't taken my picture Lange ] never surpassed it these may! 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