Dorothea Lange

Dorothea Lange (May 26, 1895 – October 11, 1965) was an American documentary photographer and photojournalist whose powerful images became defining representations of the Great Depression. Born in Hoboken, New Jersey, Lange initially worked as a portrait photographer before finding her passion in documentary work. Her most famous photograph, 'Migrant Mother' (1936), captured the desperation and resilience of a migrant farmworker and became an iconic symbol of American suffering during the Depression. Working for the Farm Security Administration, she traveled the country documenting the lives of ordinary Americans facing economic hardship, unemployment, and displacement. Her photographs were distinguished by their compositional excellence, emotional depth, and humanitarian concern. After World War II, she documented Japanese-American internment camps and later worked internationally, capturing human dignity across cultures. Lange's groundbreaking approach to documentary photography established new standards for photojournalism and social documentation. Her legacy extends beyond her technical mastery—she demonstrated how photography could advocate for social justice and give voice to the marginalized, influencing generations of documentary photographers and activists.