What Was The Importance Of Dorothea Lange’s Photographs Of Migrant Workers?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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These photographs led to her hiring by the federal Farm Security Administration (FSA). Lange closely identified with the FSA's mission, which was to document the effects of the Depression on Americans , bringing attention to their struggles so that such events would never recur.

Why were Dorothea Lange's photographs important?

During the Great Depression, Lange photographed the desperate situation of the unemployed men she saw in San Francisco . Her photographs, notably White Angel Bread Line (1933), received immediate recognition and led to a commission in 1935 from the U.S. Resettlement Administration to photograph migrant workers.

Why was the Migrant Mother photo important?

From the moment it first appeared in the pages of a San Francisco newspaper in March 1936, the image known as “Migrant Mother” came to symbolize the hunger, poverty and hopelessness endured by so many Americans during the Great Depression .

What was the impact of Dorothea Lange's photography on the migrant workers?

With the help of the FSA, Lange's pictures brought issues like family suffering and unfortunate working conditions to light . Lange's photographs gave a face to the distress and suffering of the nation, and spread awareness throughout the country.

What did Dorothea Lange's photos do?

Lange's photographs influenced the development of documentary photography and humanized the consequences of the Great Depression. Documentary notable for her striking images of Depression era America.

When was the photo migrant mother taken?

Dorothea Lange took this photograph in 1936 , while employed by the U.S. government's Farm Security Administration (FSA) program, formed during the Great Depression to raise awareness of and provide aid to impoverished farmers.

How did Migrant Mother change the world?

Migrant Mother went on to become the public face of the Dust Bowl migrants ; help win Lange a Guggenheim fellowship in 1941; adorn U.S. postage stamps; and inspire John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath (1939).

What was the beneficial result of Dorothea Lange's photograph of the Migrant Mother?

The immediate success of this photograph brought much-needed assistance to these farm workers. Lange's photograph documents an economic story , but also creates a personal narrative. By closely framing the distant gaze of the woman, surrounded by her children, she encourages our empathy.

Where was the photo Migrant Mother taken?

During the Great Depression, government photographer Dorothea Lange took this picture at a migrant farmworkers' camp near Nipomo, California . Lange's brief caption recorded her impressions of the family's plight: “Destitute pea pickers... a 32-year-old mother of seven children.”

What does the famous photograph Migrant Mother document?

Lange took six pictures. One of them, Migrant Mother, became the iconic photo of the Depression , and one of the most familiar images of the 20th century. With her children cowering behind her for protection, hiding their faces, the Migrant Mother gazes distractedly into the distance.

What was Lange's point of view toward those affected by the Depression?

Based on the text and the photo, what was Lange's point of view toward those affected by the Depression? She was biased toward the farm owners. She was sympathetic to their suffering . ... The photograph was taken during the Great Depression.

What hardships did immigrants face during the Depression?

The Great Depression of the 1930s hit Mexican immigrants especially hard. Along with the job crisis and food shortages that affected all U.S. workers, Mexicans and Mexican Americans had to face an additional threat: deportation .

What was Dorothea Lange's biggest challenge as a woman photographer?

Pioneering documentary photographer Dorothea Lange, challenged in her childhood by contracting polio and by the abandonment by her father , decided at a young age to become a photographer.

Did Dorothea Lange pose her subjects?

The children at the pea-pickers camp in California may never have seen a camera. ... However, it may be that Lange purposely posed the children with their backs turned , so the viewer would focus on their mother's face.

What were some of the unfinished projects at the end of Dorothea Lange's life?

Lange was working on two unfinished projects at the time of her death. Towards the end of her life, Lange attempted to set up a new independent social documentary unit , modelled on the FSA's photographic project, to commission a new generation of photographers to record urban life in America.

Emily Lee
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Emily Lee
Emily Lee is a freelance writer and artist based in New York City. She’s an accomplished writer with a deep passion for the arts, and brings a unique perspective to the world of entertainment. Emily has written about art, entertainment, and pop culture.