American photographer Dorothea Lange (1895–1965)
made some of the most iconic portraits of the 20th century.
Her photographs helped shape contemporary documentary practice
by connecting everyday people with moments of history
Dorothea Lange pictured in Texas, circa 1934.
The exhibition presents in 101 photographs a stark portrait of American society from the years of the Great Depression through the 1960s. Each image is a double portrait of people’s living and working conditions and their harsh circumstances reflected in their faces. Dorothea introduces an innovative approach to social reportage where she explores economic disparity, migration, poverty and racism. Her photographs are an invaluable document of an era and its people.
Lives in the Great Depression
White Angel Breadline
San Francisco, California, 1933
Dorothea Lange. White Angel Breadline. San Francisco, California, 1933.
Gelatin silver print, image/sheet: 34 x 26.5 cm (13 3/8 x 10 7/16 in.) mat: 20 x 16 in. frame (outside): 21 x 17 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
© The Dorothea Lange Collection, Oakland Museum of California, City of Oakland. Gift of Paul S. Taylor.
Detail of White Angel Breadline
Migratory Pea Pickers
Nipomo, California, March 1936
Dorothea Lange: Migratory Pea Pickers, Nipomo, California, March 1936.
Gelatin silver print, image: 19.4 x 24.5 cm (7 5/8 x 9 5/8 in.)
sheet: 20.3 x 25.7 cm (8 x 10 1/8 in.) mat: 13 x 16 in. frame (outside): 14 x 17 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Detail of Migratory Pea Pickers
Drought Refugees
from Oklahoma Camping by the Roadside
Blythe, California, August 17, 1936
Dorothea Lange: Drought Refugees from Oklahoma Camping by the Roadside, Blythe, California, August 17, 1936.
Gelatin silver print, image: 24 x 19.1 cm (9 7/16 x 7 1/2 in.)
mount: 33.02 x 28.26 cm (13 x 11 1/8 in.) mat: 20 x 16 in. frame (outside): 21 x 17 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Once a Missouri farmer, now a Migratory Farm Laborer
San Joaquin Valley, California, February 1936
Dorothea Lange: Once a Missouri farmer, now a Migratory Farm Laborer.
San Joaquin Valley, California, February 1936,
Printed c. 1965, gelatin silver print, image/sheet: 44.6 x 39.5 cm (17 9/16 x 15 9/16 in.)
mat: 26 x 22 in. frame (outside): 27 x 23 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Detail of Once a Missouri farmer
Migrant Agricultural Worker’s Family
Nipomo, California, February 1936
Dorothea Lange: Migrant Agricultural Worker’s Family, Nipomo, California, February 1936.
Gelatin silver print, image: 26.67 x 34 cm (10 1/2 x 13 3/8 in.)
sheet: 27.94 x 35.56 cm (11 x 14 in.) mat: 18 x 22 in. frame (outside): 19 x 23 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Human Erosion in California
(Migrant Mother), March 1936
Dorothea Lange: Human Erosion in California (Migrant Mother), March 1936.
Gelatin silver print, image: 34.1 x 26.8 cm (13 7/16 x 10 9/16 in.)
mount: 34.8 x 27.1 cm (13 11/16 x 10 11/16 in.)
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 98.XM.162
Eighteen-Year-Old Mother from Oklahoma
now a California Migrant, March 1937
Dorothea Lange: Eighteen-Year-Old Mother from Oklahoma, now a California Migrant, March 1937.
Gelatin silver print, image: 18.9 x 24.5 cm (7 7/16 x 9 5/8 in.)
sheet: 20.6 x 25.5 cm (8 1/8 x 10 1/16 in.) mat: 13 x 16 in. frame(outside): 14 x 17 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Detail of Eighteen-Year-Old Mother from Oklahoma
Hitch-hiking from Joplin, Missouri, to a sawmill job in Arizona
On U.S. 66 near Weatherford, western Oklahoma, August 12, 1938
Dorothea Lange: Hitch-hiking from Joplin, Missouri, to a sawmill job in Arizona.
On U.S. 66 near Weatherford, western Oklahoma, August 12, 1938.
Printed c. 1960s, gelatin silver print, image: 24 x 19.5 cm (9 7/16 x 7 11/16 in.)
sheet: 25.4 x 20.32 cm (10 x 8 in.) mat: 16 x 13 in. frame (outside): 17 x 14 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Dispossessed Arkansas farmers
These people are resettling themselves on the dump outside of Bakersfield,
California, 1935
Dorothea Lange: Dispossessed Arkansas farmers.
These people are resettling themselves on the dump outside of Bakersfield, California, 1935.
Gelatin silver print, image: 24.1 x 18.8 cm (9 1/2 x 7 3/8 in.)
sheet: 25.3 x 20.7 cm (9 15/16 x 8 1/8 in.) mat: 16 x 14 in. frame (outside): 17 x 15 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Detail of Dispossessed Arkansas farmers
Migratory Workers Harvesting Peas near Nipomo
California, spring 1937
Dorothea Lange: Migratory Workers Harvesting Peas near Nipomo, California, spring 1937.
Gelatin silver print, image: 19.4 x 24.5 cm (7 5/8 x 9 5/8 in.)
sheet: 20.6 x 25.4 cm (8 1/8 x 10 in.) mat: 13 x 16 in. frame (outside): 14 x 17 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Migratory Field Worker Picking Cotton
in San Joaquin Valley, California, November 1938
Dorothea Lange: Migratory Field Worker Picking Cotton in San Joaquin Valley, California, November 1938.
Printed later, gelatin silver print, image/sheet: 19 x 24 cm (7 1/2 x 9 7/16 in.)
mat: 14 x 18 in. frame (outside): 15 x 19 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Edison, Kern County, California.
Young migratory mother, originally from Texas
On the day before the photograph was made, she and her husband traveled 35 miles
each way to pick peas. They worked 5 hours each and together earned $2.25.
They have two young children…Live in auto camp, April 11, 1940,
Dorothea Lange; Edison, Kern County, California. Young migratory mother, originally from Texas.
On the day before the photograph was made, she and her husband traveled 35 miles each way to pick peas.
They worked 5 hours each and together earned $2.25.
They have two young children…Live in auto camp, April 11, 1940.
Printed 1950s, gelatin silver print, image/sheet: 30.1 x 24 cm (11 7/8 x 9 7/16 in.)
mount: 30.8 x 24 cm (12 1/8 x 9 7/16 in.) mat: 20 x 16 in. frame (outside): 21 x 17 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Cotton Pickers and Farm Owners
Bakersfield, California, 1938
Dorothea Lange: Cotton Pickers and Farm Owners, Bakersfield, California, 1938
Printed c. 1950s. Gelatin silver print, image: 19 x 24 cm (7 1/2 x 9 7/16 in.)
sheet: 20.32 x 25.4 cm (8 x 10 in.) mat: 13 x 16 in. frame(outside): 14 x 17 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Line of men inside a division office of the State Employment
Service office at San Francisco, California,
waiting to register for unemployment benefits, January 1938
Dorothea Lange: Line of men inside a division office of the State Employment Service office
at San Francisco, California, waiting to register for unemployment benefits, January 1938.
Printed c.1960s gelatin silver print, image: 19 x 24 cm (7 1/2 x 9 7/16 in.)
sheet: 25.08 x 20.32 cm (9 7/8 x 8 in.) mat: 14 x 17 in. frame (outside): 15 x 18 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Lives in a racist land
Formerly Enslaved Woman
Alabama, 1938
Dorothea Lange: Formerly Enslaved Woman, Alabama, 1938.
Printed 1950s, gelatin silver print, image/sheet: 20.32 x 27.94 cm (8 x 11 in.)
mat: 14 x 18 in. frame (outside): 15 x 19 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Child of Impoverished Negro Tenant Family Working on Farm
Alabama, July 1936
Dorothea Lange: Child of Impoverished Negro Tenant Family Working on Farm, Alabama, July 1936.
Gelatin silver print, image: 20 x 19.2 cm (7 7/8 x 7 9/16 in.)
sheet: 25.4 x 20.2 cm (10 x 7 15/16 in.) mat: 14 x 14 in. frame (outside): 15 x 15 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Alabama Negro Working in Field near Eutaw
Alabama, 1936
Dorothea Lange: Alabama Negro Working in Field near Eutaw, Alabama, 1936.
Gelatin silver print, image/sheet: 20.5 x 13.8 cm (8 1/16 x 5 7/16 in.)
mount: 21.2 x 14.5 cm (8 3/8 x 5 11/16 in.) mat: 15 x 12 in. frame (outside): 16 x 13 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Yazoo Delta
Mississippi, 1938
Dorothea Lange: Yazoo Delta, Mississippi, 1938.
Printed 1965, gelatin silver print, image/sheet: 34.2 x 44.7 cm (13 7/16 x 17 5/8 in.)
mat: 20 x 24 in. frame (outside): 21 x 25 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Detail of Yazoo Delta
Formerly Enslaved Woman
Alabama, 1938
Dorothea Lange: Formerly Enslaved Woman, Alabama, 1938.
Printed c.1955, gelatin silver print, image: 24 x 19 cm (9 7/16 x 7 1/2 in.)
sheet: 25 x 20 cm (9 13/16 x 7 7/8 in.) mat: 16 x 13 in. frame (outside): 17 x 14 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Detail of Formerly Enslaved Woman
Negro sharecropper with twenty acres
He receives eight cents a day for hoeing cotton.
Brazos river bottoms, near Bryan, Texas, June 1938
Dorothea Lange: Negro sharecropper with twenty acres. He receives eight cents a day for hoeing cotton.
Brazos river bottoms, near Bryan, Texas, June 1938.
Printed c.1950, gelatin silver print, image: 24.1 x 19.2 cm (9 1/2 x 7 9/16 in.)
sheet: 25.3 x 20.5 cm (9 15/16 x 8 1/16 in.) mat: 18 x 14 in. frame (outside): 19 x 15 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Native of Indiana in a Migratory Labor Contractor’s Camp
near Calipatria, California, February 1937
Dorothea Lange: Native of Indiana in a Migratory Labor Contractor’s Camp,
near Calipatria, California, February 1937.
Gelatin silver print, image/sheet: 24.13 x 19.05 cm (9 1/2 x 7 1/2 in.) mat: 16 x 14 in. frame (outside): 17 x 15 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Detail of Native of Indiana in a Migratory Labor Contractor’s Camp
“On the plains a hat is more than a covering”
1938
Dorothea Lange: “On the plains a hat is more than a covering”, 1938.
Printed c.1965, gelatin silver print, image/sheet: 32 x 26.3 cm (12 5/8 x 10 3/8 in.)
mat: 20 x 18 in. frame (outside): 21 x 19 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Lives during World War II
Children of the Weill Public School
Shown in a Flag Pledge Ceremony
San Francisco, California, April 1942
Dorothea Lange: Children of the Weill Public School Shown in a Flag Pledge Ceremony,
San Francisco, California, April 1942.
Printed c.1965, gelatin silver print, image: 23.5 x 17.4 cm (9 1/4 x 6 7/8 in.)
mat: 18 x 14 in. frame (outside): 19 x 15 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Detail of Children of the Weill Public School
Grandfather and Grandson of Japanese Ancestry
at a War Relocation Authority Center
Manzanar, California, July 1942
Dorothea Lange: Grandfather and Grandson of Japanese Ancestry
at a War Relocation Authority Center, Manzanar, California, July 1942.
Gelatin silver print, image: 26.4 x 33.7 cm (10 3/8 x 13 1/4 in.)
sheet: 28 x 35.3 cm (11 x 13 7/8 in.) mat: 16 x 20 in. frame (outside): 17 x 21 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Detail of Grandfather and Grandson of Japanese Ancestry
Grandfather and Grandchildren Awaiting Evacuation Bus
Hayward, California, 1942
Dorothea Lange: Grandfather and Grandchildren Awaiting Evacuation Bus, Hayward, California, 1942, gelatin silver print, image: 26.4 x 22.7 cm (10 3/8 x 8 15/16 in.) sheet: 35.4 x 27.8 cm (13 15/16 x 10 15/16 in.) The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri (Gift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.) 2005.27.4215
Japanese American-Owned Grocery Store
Oakland, California, March 1942
Dorothea Lange: Japanese American-Owned Grocery Store, Oakland, California, March 1942.
Gelatin silver print, image: 19 x 24.45 cm (7 1/2 x 9 5/8 in.)
sheet: 20.32 x 25.4 cm (8 x 10 in.) mat: 14 x 18 in. frame (outside): 15 x 19 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Dorothea portraitist
If making a perfect psychological portrait of a single person is very difficult, achieving the same with a group of people is astounding. To capture in a perfect instant, aligning the point of view, the light, the situation and the attitude of the people, is a true prodigy. Dorothea had this ability. These photographs of people in a group must be considered among the most extraordinary of her work.
Country store on dirt road. Sunday afternoon
Note the kerosene pump on the right and the gasoline pump on the left.
Rough, unfinished timber posts have been used as supports for porch roof.
Negro men are sitting on the porch. Brother of store owner stands in doorway,
Gordonton, North Carolina, July 1939
Dorothea Lange: Country store on dirt road. Sunday afternoon. Note the kerosene pump on the right and the
gasoline pump on the left. Rough, unfinished timber posts have been used as supports for porch roof. Negro men
are sitting on the porch. Brother of store owner stands in doorway, Gordonton, North Carolina, July 1939.
Printed later, gelatin silver print, image: 24.5 x 34.3 cm (9 5/8 x 13 1/2 in.)
sheet: 25.6 x 35.4 cm (10 1/16 x 13 15/16 in.) mat: 16 x 20 in. frame (outside): 17 x 21 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Detail of Country store on dirt road. Sunday afternoon
Displaced Tenant Farmers
Goodlett, Hardeman County, Texas, July 1937
Dorothea Lange: Displaced Tenant Farmers, Goodlett, Hardeman County, Texas, July 1937.
Printed 1950s, gelatin silver print, image: 19 x 24 cm (7 1/2 x 9 7/16 in.)
sheet: 20.3 x 25.2 cm (8 x 9 15/16 in.) mat: 14 x 16 in. frame (outside): 15 x 17 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Detail of Displaced Tenant Farmers
Plantation Owner
Mississippi Delta, near Clarksdale, Mississippi, June 1936
Dorothea Lange: Plantation Owner, Mississippi Delta, near Clarksdale, Mississippi, June 1936
Gelatin silver print, image: 18.7 x 24.1 cm (7 3/8 x 9 1/2 in.)
The Art Institute of Chicago, Purchased with funds provided by Vicki and Thomas Horwich, 2016.341
Detail of Plantation Owner
Mexican Workers Leaving for Melon Fields
Imperial Valley, California, June 1935
Dorothea Lange: Mexican Workers Leaving for Melon Fields, Imperial Valley, California, June 1935.
Printed 1940s, gelatin silver print, image: 45 x 58 cm (17 11/16 x 22 13/16 in.)
sheet: 50.2 x 67.5 cm (19 3/4 x 26 9/16 in.) mat: 24 x 28 in. frame (outside): 25 x 29 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
© The Dorothea Lange Collection, Oakland Museum of California, City of Oakland. Gift of Paul S. Taylor.
Hopi Man
Arizona, 1923
![[Hopi Man, Arizona]](https://patrons.org.es/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Dorothea-Lange_Hopi-Man-Arizona-1923_850_5558-084.jpg)
Dorothea Lange: Hopi Man, Arizona, 1923
Gelatin silver print, image: 18.4 x 19.7 cm (7 1/4 x 7 3/4 in.) mount: 19.3 x 20.4 cm (7 5/8 x 8 1/16 in.)
mat: 15 1/4 x 15 in. frame (outside): 16 1/2 x 16 1/4 in. The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, 84.XP.912.4
© The Dorothea Lange Collection, Oakland Museum of California, City of Oakland. Gift of Paul S. Taylor
This man is a labor contractor in the pea fields of California
“One-Eye” Charlie gives his views. “I’m making my living off of these people
(migrant laborers) so I know the conditions,”
San Luis Obispo County, California, February 1936
Dorothea Lange: This man is a labor contractor in the pea fields of California. “One-Eye” Charlie gives his views.
“I’m making my living off of these people (migrant laborers) so I know the conditions,”
San Luis Obispo County, California, February 1936.
Gelatin silver print, image: 24.13 x 19.69 cm (9 1/2 x 7 3/4 in.)
sheet: 25.4 x 20.32 cm (10 x 8 in.) mat: 18 x 14 in. frame (outside): 19 x 15 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Former Tenant Farmer on Relief Grant in the Imperial Valley
California, March 1937
Dorothea Lange: Former Tenant Farmer on Relief Grant in the Imperial Valley, California, March 1937
Gelatin silver print, image/sheet: 9.5 x 9 cm (3 3/4 x 3 9/16 in.) mat: 14 x 11 in. frame (outside): 15 x 12 3/4 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Near Coolidge, Arizona
Migratory cotton picker with his cotton sack slung over his shoulder
rests at the scales before returning to work in the field. November 1940
Dorothea Lange: Near Coolidge, Arizona. Migratory cotton picker with his cotton sack slung over his shoulder
rests at the scales before returning to work in the field., November 1940.
Printed c. 1965, gelatin silver print, image/sheet: 31.5 x 41 cm (12 3/8 x 16 1/8 in.)
mat: 24 x 20 in. frame(outside): 21 x 25 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Nettie Featherston
Wife of a Migratory Laborer with Three Children
near Childress, Texas, June 1938
Dorothea Lange: Nettie Featherston, Wife of a Migratory Laborer with Three Children, near Childress, Texas, June 1938.
Gelatin silver print, image: 34 x 26.8 cm (13 3/8 x 10 9/16 in.) sheet: 35.2 x 28 cm (13 7/8 x 11 in.)
mount: 45.4 x 38.3 cm (17 7/8 x 15 1/16 in.) mat: 22 x 18 in. frame(outside): 23 x 19 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Detail of Nettie Featherston
Member of the congregation of Wheeley’s church
who is called “Queen.”
She is wearing the old fashioned type of sunbonnet. Her dress and apron
were made at home. Near Gordonton, North Carolina, July 1939
Dorothea Lange: Member of the congregation of Wheeley’s church who is called “Queen.”
She is wearing the old fashioned type of sunbonnet. Her dress and apron were made at home.
Near Gordonton, North Carolina, July 1939.
Printed no later than 1965, gelatin silver print, image: 38.7 x 31.9 cm (15 1/4 x 12 9/16 in.)
sheet: 39.5 x 34.1 cm (15 9/16 x 13 7/16 in.) mat: 20 x 18 in. frame (outside): 21 x 19 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
© The Dorothea Lange Collection, Oakland Museum of California, City of Oakland. Gift of Paul S. Taylor.
Arkansas mother come to California for a new start,
with husband and eleven children
Now a rural rehabilitation client. Tulare County, California, November 1938
Dorothea Lange: Arkansas mother come to California for a new start, with husband and eleven children.
Now a rural rehabilitation client. Tulare County, California, November 1938.
Printed 1965, gelatin silver print, image/sheet: 35.5 x 27.9 cm (14 x 11 in.)
mat: 20 x 16 in. frame (outside): 21 x 17 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Detail of Arkansas mother
Funeral Cortege
San Joaquin Valley, California, 1938
Dorothea Lange: Funeral Cortege, San Joaquin Valley, California, 1938.
Printed early 1950s, gelatin silver print, image: 20 x 19 cm (7 7/8 x 7 1/2 in.)
sheet: 25.08 x 20.32 cm (9 7/8 x 8 in.) mat: 16 x 14 in. frame (outside): 17 x 15 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Detail of Funeral Cortege
Eighty-year-old woman living in squatters’ camp
on the outskirts of Bakersfield, California. November 1936
“If you lose your pluck you lose the most there is in you—all you’ve got to live with”
Dorothea Lange: Eighty-year-old woman living in squatters’ camp on the outskirts of Bakersfield, California.
“If you lose your pluck you lose the most there is in you—all you’ve got to live with”, November 1936
Gelatin silver print, image: 19 x 24.4 cm (7 1/2 x 9 5/8 in.)
sheet: 20.3 x 25.5 cm (8 x 10 1/16 in.) mat: 13 x 16 in. frame (outside): 14 x 17 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Detail of Eighty-year-old woman living in squatters’ camp
Young girl looks up from her work
She picks and sacks potatoes on large-scale ranch
Edison, Kern County, California. April 11, 1940
Dorothea Lange: Edison, Kern County, California. Young girl looks up from her work.
She picks and sacks potatoes on large-scale ranch., April 11, 1940
Gelatin silver print, image: 18.7 x 24 cm (7 3/8 x 9 7/16 in.)
sheet: 20.2 x 25.3 cm (7 15/16 x 9 15/16 in.) mat: 13 x 16 in. frame (outside): 14 x 17 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
Post Office and Postmistress
Widtsoe, Utah, April 1936
Dorothea Lange: Post Office and Postmistress, Widtsoe, Utah, April 1936
Gelatin silver print, image: 24.4 x 19.3 cm (9 5/8 x 7 5/8 in.)
sheet: 25.4 x 20.3 cm (10 x 8 in.) mat: 16 x 13 in. frame (outside): 17 x 14 in.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser
DOROTHEA LANGE
A life capturing unique moments in time
Lange began her career as a commercial studio photographer in San Francisco in 1918. Her studio became a gathering spot for artists who had serious discussions about photography and art. In 1920 she married Maynard Dixon, a painter of western subjects, who encouraged Lange to take her photography outside. She accompanied him on trips through the American Southwest, photographing rural landscapes and Dixon at work, along with the Indigenous communities he was portraying.
She started to work in the streets of San Francisco in 1933, making photographs such as White Angel Breadline, San Francisco, California (1933) that capture the effects of the Great Depression and the plight of the city’s dispossessed men and women.
When she met the labor economist Paul Schuster Taylor in 1934, Lange began to photograph the plight of migrant farmers who had moved to California from the South and Midwest seeking new livelihoods.
From 1935 to 1943, while working for the for the US Resettlement Administration, Farm Security Administration, and War Relocation Authority, Lange focused on the resilience of Depression-era families, farmworkers, rural cooperative communities, migrant camps, and the forced incarceration of Japanese Americans in the early days of World War II. The resulting images illustrate the human and economic impact wrought across the United States by farm tenancy, racism, the legacy of slavery, climate change, and migrations. These portraits, sometimes combined with interviews, added a personal element to Lange’s stark pictures of makeshift housing and agricultural fields and cemented her documentary style.
Statement by Kaywin Feldman
director of the National Gallery of Art
“Throughout the course of her 50-year career, Lange created an intensely humanistic body of work that sought to transform how we see and understand people,”
“Merging her skills as a portrait artist, a social documentary photographer, and a storyteller, she helped redefine photography through images that emphasize social issues.”
Exhibition Organization
The exhibition is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington.
The exhibition is made possible through the leadership support of the Trellis Fund.
Exhibition support is also provided by The Shared Earth Foundation.
Additional funding is provided by Nion McEvoy, Wes and Kate Mitchell, and the James D. and Kathryn K. Steele Fund for Photography.
Exhibition Curator
This exhibition is curated by Philip Brookman, consulting curator in the department of photographs, National Gallery of Art.
https://www.nga.gov/