Lange took seven photos that day, the last being the famous Migrant Mother. I do not remember how I explained my presence or my camera to her, but I do remember she asked me no questions. There's no way we sold our tires, because we didn't have any to sell. Florence died of "stroke, cancer and heart problems" at Scotts Valley, California, on September 16, 1983 at age 80. Dorothea Lange, American documentary photographer whose portraits of displaced farmers during the Great Depression greatly influenced later documentary and journalistic photography. Dorothea Lange, Migrant Mother, Nipomo California, 1936, printed later, gelatin silver print, 35.24 x 27.78 cm (Los Angeles County Museum of Art, PG.1997.2). Things to consider: Why is the image in black and white? 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. [19] In November 2002, Dorothea Lange's personal print of Migrant Mother sold at Christie's New York for $141,500. They were shocked to find so many people camping there—as many as 2,500 to 3,500. [21] By September, the family had collected $35,000 in donations to pay for her medical care. I done a little bit of everything to make a living for my kids. [11] Thompson and her family had moved on by the time the food arrived,[11] and were working near Watsonville, California. From the New York Public Library Then in 1978, a woman named Florence Owens Thompson wrote a … "Migrant Mother" by Dorothea Lange, Public Domain. "Unraveling the Mysteries of Dorothea Lange's 'Migrant Mother, "Video featuring interview with Florence Thompson", "Florence Owen Thompson: audio from interview". She told me her age, that she was 32. Commissioned to document the impact of federal programs intended to improve rural communities, she was sent to locations across the country. These images may be found in the Dorothea Lange Archive External , Oakland Museum 1000 Oak Street, Oakland, CA 94607. 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. Both her parents were of Cherokee descent. Dorothea Lange Migrant Mother. "An Appeal For A Face From The Depression", "Girl from iconic Great Depression photo: 'We were ashamed, Overview of the Migrant Mother series at the LOC, Video of interview of Florence Owens Thompson, Interview with Katherine McIntosh and Norma Rydlewski (Katherine is the baby in the photo and Norma was four years-old when the image was taken); 36 minutes - produced by Blackside for, Article on the photo shoot and reinterpretation of an image, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Florence_Owens_Thompson&oldid=997340851, People notable for being the subject of a specific photograph, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 31 December 2020, at 01:58. (From: Lange's "The Assignment I'll Never Forget: Migrant Mother," Popular Photography, Feb. 1960). Follow the link to read the collection rights statement. In 1978, acting on a tip, Modesto Bee reporter Emmett Corrigan located Thompson at her mobile home in Space 24 of the Modesto Mobile Village and recognized her from the 42-year-old photograph. Exhausted after a long road-trip, she did not speak extensively to the migrant woman, or Thompson herself, and may not have recorded any notes. 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. Supported by … Well after World War II, Thompson met and married hospital administrator George Thompson. While she waited, she was approached by an apparently friendly photographer named Dorothea Lange, who was touring the Central Valley at the request of the federal government to document the plight of migrant laborers. During one self-prompted visit to a campsite brimming with out-of-work pea pickers, Lange spotted a particularly d… Last Updated: February 19, 2019. There was a sort of equality about it. Roy Stryker called Migrant Mother the "ultimate" photo of the Depression Era: "[Lange] never surpassed it. By 1931, Thompson was pregnant with her sixth child, when her husband Cleo died of tuberculosis. Destitute peapickers in California; a 32 year old mother of seven children. First of a series. [22][23] She was buried in Lakewood Memorial Park, in Hughson, California, and her gravestone reads: "FLORENCE LEONA THOMPSON Migrant Mother – A Legend of the Strength of American Motherhood. Of the photographs that came out of the Great Depression, few had as immediate or timeless impact as the one colloquially called Migrant Mother. 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. During the 1930s, the family worked as migrant farm workers following the crops in California and at times into Arizona. Afterward Lange informed the authorities of the plight of those at the encampment, and they sent 20,000 pounds of food. Out of the thousands of images she made, why does this have such universal appeal? Discover more about an iconic image from the Farm Security Administration Collection. Dorothea Lange captured suffering of itinerant workers near Nipomo. "[1], Florence Owens Thompson was born Florence Leona Christie on September 1, 1903, in Indian Territory, present-day Oklahoma. [16], In 1998, the retouched photo of Migrant Mother became a 32-cent U.S. Learn more about the piece and artist, and its final selling price However, it is, unmistakably, the mother from that photograph. She didn't ask my name. She took seven images in the course of ten minutes. 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. “The Assignment I’ll Never Forget.”. She said: "We never had a lot, but she always made sure we had something. [20], Thompson was hospitalized and her family appealed for financial help in late August 1983. 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. ", Thompson's identity was discovered in the late 1970s. This guide discusses photographer Dorothea Lange's work, provides other views of Florence Owens Thompson (the Migrant Mother), and lists additional resources. Use our online form to ask a librarian for help. Dorothea Lange. (As a rule, RA photographers did not record subject names, and Lange had promised not to reveal Thompson’s identity.) Mother of seven children. 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. The images were made using a Graflex camera. Postal Service stamp in the 1930s portion of the Celebrate the Century series. The story of how Dorothea Lange created perhaps the most iconic photograph in American history. Face of hard times has a big payday. "[24], In a 2008 interview with CNN, Thompson's daughter Katherine McIntosh recalled how her mother was a "very strong lady", and "the backbone of our family". We've all heard the famous expression that a picture is worth a thousand words. She had just sold the tires from her car to buy food. Age thirty-two. (35.24 x 27.94 cm) (mount) Type: Photograph Program information: http://www.c-span.org/History/Events/American-Artifacts-1930s-40s-Color-Photographs/10737436052/ 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. The Library of Congress titled the image: "Destitute pea pickers in California. 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. She said: "I worked in hospitals. Something beckoned her to postpone her journey home and enter the camp. Lange’s most famous photograph almost didn’t happen, and its lasting impact was something of a mystery to her. Note: This guide is adapted from "Dorothea Lange's 'Migrant Mother' Photographs in the Farm Security Administration Collection" list, previously available on the Prints & Photographs Reading Room webpage. English: The "Migrant Mother" — renowned image by photographer Dorothea Lange, of Florence Owens Thompson in 1936. I tended bar. Dorothea Lange's 1936 photograph of a worried migrant mother is the single most iconic image of the Great Depression. She said that they had been living on frozen vegetables from the surrounding fields and birds that the children killed. Photo of poverty sells for a stack of riches", "Famous Pictures Magazine – Depression Mother". Age thirty-two. As she waited, photographer Dorothea Lange, working for the Resettlement Administration, drove up and started taking photos of Thompson and her family. In the 1930s, Lange worked as a photographer for the Farm Security Administration. 23 years later, Lange wrote of the encounter with Thompson:[10]. It is not possible to determine on the basis of the negative numbers (which were assigned later at the Resettlement Administration) the order in which the photographs were taken. February [sic: March] 1936. 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. Dorothea Lange was an American documentary photographer and photojournalist. A conversation with Eve Schillo, Assistant Curator, Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Steven Zucker. That's one thing she did do. Destitute in a pea pickers camp because of the failure of the early pea crop. [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. Mother of seven children. Captured by documentary photographer Dorothea Lange in 1936, the image of a worried but resilient mother was … Finally, in 1978, a reporter from the Modesto Bee found the Migrant Mother, tracking her down to a trailer park outside Modesto, California. She never did. It was expensive, sensitive to changes in temperature, and difficult to process. This marriage brought her far greater financial security than she had previously enjoyed. "[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. Troy Owens, one of Thompson's sons, recounted:[3]. She said she'd send me a copy. In 1960, Lange gave this account of the experience: I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet. Mother aged 32, the father is a native Californian. After all those letters came in, I think it gave us a sense of pride."[3]. They soon had their first daughter, Violet, followed by a second daughter, Viola, and a son, Leroy (Troy). However, the picture did help make Lange a celebrity and earned her "respect from her colleagues. I can't get a penny out of it. She said she wouldn't sell the pictures. The "Migrant Mother" by Dorothea Lange Thesis Statement The photograph of the "Migrant Mother" was taken by Dorothea Lange in March 1936 during her trip to Nimpo during the Great Depression. Mother of seven children. [3] The family migrated west with other Owens relatives to Oroville, California, where they worked in the saw mills and on the farms of the Sacramento Valley. Her name was … Nipomo, California", "A true picture of hard times. To me, it was the picture ... . 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? It seems that the published newspaper reports about this camp were later distilled into captions for the series, which explains inaccuracies on the file cards in the Library of Congress. Migrant Mother became the most iconic image of the 160,000 Dorothea Lange took to document the Great Depression. "Florence Thompson, 'Migrant Mother,' Dies". [3], While Thompson's identity was not known for over 40 years after the photos were taken, the photos became famous. "[13], While the image was being prepared for exhibit in 1938,[14] the negative of the photo was retouched to remove Florence's thumb from the lower-right corner of the image. I did not ask her name or her history. 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. Color film was rare in the 1930s. (American, 1895–1965) 1936. Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother is widely recognized as the most popular social documentary photograph of all time. Dorothea Lange's famous "Migrant Mother" photograph. [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. 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. Edward Steichen described them as "the most remarkable human documents ever rendered in pictures. The following are the six other photos: Collection of the Oakland Museum of California, Farm Security Administration–Office of War Information Photograph Collection, Library of Congress, Native-American farm worker, subject of Dorothea Lange's famous photo Migrant Mother. Dorothea Lange's famous 'Migrant Mother' Depression photograph, taken in Nipomo, and others collect almost $300,000 at auction. Dorothea Lange. Extended captions and supplementary textual files relating to this series in the FSA Written Records have not been found. I cooked. By Lennard Davis. Cette image, captée avec cinq autres clichés en février 1936, représentant Florence Owens Thompson et ses enfants, est devenue le symbole de la Grande Dépression aux États-Unis. Most of the 2,500 The only ones we had were on the Hudson and we drove off in them. 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. Looking at Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother Something appears to have been mixed up here, since the photograph above is not the well-known Migrant Mother photograph by Dorothea Lange . Well, how about one that's worth 169,000 words and 20,000 pounds of food? I worked in the fields. Dorothea Lange's 1936 photograph of a worried migrant mother is the single most iconic image of the Great Depression, and one of the most famous pictures of … Migrant Mother: Dorothea Lange and the Truth of Photography. I don't believe Dorothea Lange was lying, I just think she had one story mixed up with another. "The Assignment I’ll Never Forget". Thompson then worked in the fields and in restaurants to support her six children. Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California. Created: 1998 Dorothea Lange, Migrant Mother, and the Documentary Tradition Dorothea Lange Migrant agricultural worker's family. 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. [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. 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). She had just sold the tires from her car to buy food. "[3] On the road, the car's timing chain snapped and they coasted to a stop just inside a pea-pickers' camp on Nipomo Mesa. The others were marvelous, but that was special ... . 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. The identity of Migrant Mother was not learned until 1978, when a reporter from the Modesto Bee newspaper located Thompson, then in her mid-seventies, at her mobile home outside of Modesto, California. Editor: There are no known restrictions on the use of Lange's "Migrant Mother" images. [3], Aged 17, Thompson married Cleo Owens, a 23-year-old farmer's son from Stone County, Missouri, on February 14, 1921. [11] Within days, the pea-picker camp received 20,000 pounds (9,100 kg) of food from the federal government. Dorothea Lange. [3] A notice had been sent out for pickers, but the crops had been destroyed by freezing rain, leaving them without work or pay. Have a question? [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 compelling image of a mother and her children is actually one of a series of photographs that Dorothea Lange made in February or March of 1936 in Nipomo, California. [16] In October 2005, an anonymous buyer paid $296,000 at Sotheby's for the 32 rediscovered Lange photos—nearly six times their pre-bid estimate. Seven hungry children. Lange, however, sent them to the San Francisco News before even sending them to the Resettlement Administration in Washington, D.C. [8] For example, one of the file cards reads:[9]. View Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California by Dorothea Lange sold at Passion & Humanity: The Susie Tompkins Buell Collection on New York Auction 4 April 2019. David Hodge January 2015. [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. Prints & Photographs Division staff During the course of her 40-year career, Lange’s style as a photographer proposed that social documentary photography is a humanist art form. 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. The photograph popularly known as “Migrant Mother” has become an icon of the Great Depression. The image which later became known as Migrant Mother "achieved near mythical status, symbolizing, if not defining, an entire era in United States history". Lange's photographs influenced the development of documentary photography and humanized the consequences of the Great Depression. [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. Gelatin silver print, 11 1/8 x 8 9/16" (28.3 x 21.8 cm) See this work in MoMA’s Online Collection. The subject is of Florence Owens Thompson, a 32-year-old migrant worker and mother of seven. According to Thompson, Lange promised the photos would never be published. [16] After the death of Hendrie and his wife, their daughter, Marian Tankersley, rediscovered the photos while emptying her parents' San Jose home. [12] Thompson was quoted as saying: "I wish she [Lange] hadn't taken my picture. Photographed at "Pea-Pickers Camp" — in Nipomo, San Luis Obispo County, central California.From a Resettlement Administration documentation project, the photograph has become one of the iconic images of the Great Depression.There are two versions of … 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. I did not ask her name or her history. Together — with the photo above chief among them — these “Migrant Mother” photos … MARCH 4, 2020. She told me her age, that she was thirty-two. [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 made five exposures, working closer and closer from the same direction. "Destitute pea pickers in California. The Library of Congress titled the image: "Destitute pea pickers in California. Mère migrante, Migrant Mother en anglais, est la photographie la plus célèbre de Dorothea Lange et une des plus connues du programme de la Farm Security Administration (FSA). Nipomo, California. Learn more about Lange’s life and career. "[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. Her best-known image is Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California (1936). She is immortal." Hanna Soltys, Reference Librarian, Prints & Photographs Division Nipomo, California." As a whole, the photographs taken for the Resettlement Administration "have been widely heralded as the epitome of documentary photography." Lange was concluding a month's trip photographing migratory farm labor around the state for what was then the Resettlement Administration. "[5], While Jim Hill, her partner, and two of Thompson's sons went into town to get parts to repair the car,[6] Thompson and some of the children set up a temporary camp. She is best know for photographs of the great depression. Dorothea Lange. Lange’s photographs influenced the development of documentary photography and humanized the consequences of the Great Depression. Authors: Age thirty-two. The family lived on a small farm in Indian Territory outside of Tahlequah. This is a picture of a 32 year old lady known as Florence Owen Thompson and her three children. Considering its impact, it is ironic that Migrant Mother is not typical of Lange’s usual practice. The San Francisco News ran the pictures almost immediately and reported that 2,500 to 3,500 migrant workers were starving in Nipomo, California. Or she was borrowing to fill in what she didn't have. In ten minutes, Lange snapped six photos of Owens and her children. (33.81 x 26.19 cm) (image) 13 7/8 x 11 in. In many ways, Migrant Mother is not typical of Lange's careful method of interacting with her subject. "[4], The family settled in Modesto, California, in 1945. There, Thompson met Jim Hill, with whom she had three more children. [2] Her father, Jackson Christie, had abandoned her mother, Mary Jane Cobb, before she was born, and her mother remarried Charles Akman (of Choctaw descent) in the spring of 1905. 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. Lange was concluding a month's trip photographing migratory farm labor around the state for what was then the Resettlement Administration. Need assistance? She didn't eat sometimes, but she made sure us children ate. These people had just sold their tent in order to buy food. 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