The Dorothea Lange photography "Migrant Mother" is actually one of a number of photographs the photographer took of Florence Owens Thompson and her children in early 1936 in Nipomo, California (See Appendix). This image was taken by Lange during a month-long trip commissioned by the Resettlement Administration in which she photographed "migratory farm labor" (Dorothea 1). In an era when the Dust Bowl and Great Depression were responsible for millions of Americans being out of work and hungry, migrant workers often followed the path they thought would bring work or food. The haunting black and white images were taken by Lange using a "Graflex" camera and the original negatives were 4x5 film (Dorothea 1).
In the "Migrant Mother" image, we see the haunting and forlorn condition of a woman sitting in a lean-to with her children huddled around her, hungry and tired, with nowhere to live. The black and white image captures a forlorn expression and concern on the mother's face that is extremely moving. Lange reported that the family had just sold their tent and car tires to buy food, having subsisted off of frozen vegetables in the fields and birds killed by her sons (Dorothea 1). These images placed Lange at the forefront of female photographers, capturing the mood and condition of millions of Americans forced to relocate in search of work and food during the era. In one interview, Lange said of Florence Thompson, "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 an equality about it" (Dorothea 1). Lange's poignant, stark images helped fuel the call for reform and assistance for America's poor and needy.
"Dorothea Lange's 'Migrant Mother' Photographs in the Farm Security Administration Collection: An Overview." Washington, D.C. Library of Congress. 4 Dec. 2007. 23 Apr. 2008