Meet Dorothea Lange

Read About the Photographer Dorothea Lange

Dorothea Lange was an American photographer who lived from 1895 to 1965. A photographer is someone who takes pictures as their job. When she was young, she worked at a photography studio in New York and took classes to learn more about taking pictures. In 1918, Lange decided to travel the world with her friend. She ended up in San Francisco, California, where she opened her own photography studio.

In 1935, the United States government hired Lange to photograph people across the country who were struggling during a very hard time called the Great Depression. Thousands of people lost their jobs and had no money. During this time, she took one of her most famous photos, often known as “Migrant Mother.” It showed a woman named Florence Owens Thompson and her children living in a farm workers’ camp. The photo became one of the most recognized images in American history. Lange also took pictures of Japanese Americans who were forced to live in incarceration camps during World War II, as well as people working in factories.

Lange was the first woman to win an important award for photographers called the Guggenheim Fellowship. She also traveled to many countries, including Vietnam, Ireland, Pakistan, and India, to tell stories through her pictures.

Questions

Write or discuss your responses.

• Lange once said that people should use a camera as if they might go blind tomorrow. What do you think she meant by this? How do you think this idea changed the way she took her photos?
• Lange took pictures of many different people, like farm workers, families in incarceration camps, and people in other countries. Why do you think she chose to photograph these kinds of people and places? What do you think she was trying to show the world?

The forced relocation of Japanese Americans to camps during World War II.