Dorothea Lange - Capturing Truth Through a Lens
Born: May 26, 1895, Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Died: October 11, 1965, San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
Dorothea Lange used her camera to capture the struggles of everyday people during the Great Depression and beyond, creating photographs that stirred empathy and action.
Dorothea Nutzhorn was born on May 26, 1895, in Hoboken, New Jersey. Her father was a lawyer and her mother a homemaker. Her childhood was shaped by two difficult events. When she was young, her father abandoned the family. Hurt by this, she dropped his last name and took her mother’s, Lange. At age seven, she contracted polio. She survived but was left with a limp that stayed for life. While she admitted her limp caused shame and ridicule, she also credited it for shaping her compassion and determination.
Dorothea was never an outstanding student, but she showed a strong artistic side. After high school, she followed her mother’s request and enrolled at the New York Training School for Teachers. However, she soon discovered her true passion when she began working at a photography studio and quickly left teaching behind.
She gained experience under respected photographers, including Arnold Genthe, and studied with Clarence Hudson White at Columbia University. She also joined a group of artists connected to Alfred Stieglitz, one of the most influential photographers and art promoters.
In 1918, Dorothea traveled across the country and eventually settled in San Francisco, where she worked as a photofinisher at a department store. Within two years she opened her own portrait studio and married painter Maynard Dixon. They had two sons together, but Dorothea’s photography remained central to her life.
During the Great Depression, Dorothea began turning her camera from portraits to the struggles on city streets. One of her early and most powerful photographs, White Angel Breadline (1932), showed unemployed men waiting for food. The image caught national attention and drew the interest of the U.S. Resettlement Administration, later renamed the Farm Security Administration (FSA).
Her reputation grew in 1934 when her work was featured in her first exhibition, organized by photographer Willard Van Dyke. At the show, economist Paul Taylor saw Dorothea’s photographs and realized their power to illustrate his research on poverty. He invited her to join him in documenting rural life. Their partnership soon became personal as well. Dorothea divorced Maynard Dixon in 1935 and married Paul Taylor the same year.
Together, Dorothea and Paul traveled through rural America, documenting poverty, migration, and displacement. Dorothea became known for her ability to connect with people before photographing them, creating images that reflected dignity as well as hardship. In 1936 she captured her most famous photograph, Migrant Mother. The image of a worried woman with her children became one of the most iconic pictures of the Depression. After it was published in a newspaper, the government responded by sending food aid to the camp where the woman lived.
Dorothea’s career continued to expand. In 1940, her work was displayed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. She became the first woman awarded a Guggenheim fellowship but gave it up to photograph Japanese American internment camps for the Office of War Information during World War II. Later, she also worked for Life magazine.
Dorothea battled illness for much of her later life and passed away on October 11, 1965, after a long fight with cancer. Her photographs, however, lived on. They helped set the standard for documentary photography and influenced generations of photojournalists. Posthumously, she was honored by the International Photography Hall of Fame (1984), the National Women’s Hall of Fame (2003), and the California Hall of Fame (2008).
Dorothea Lange dedicated her life to using art for social change. Through her lens, she gave voice to people often ignored and helped inspire compassion in those who saw her work. She remains an unsung hero whose photographs remind us of the power of empathy and truth.
References:
“OMCA: Oakland Museum of California.” Dorothea Lange Digital Archive, 5 May 2020, dorothealange.museumca.org.
Dorothea Lange | Moma, moma.org/artists/3373-dorothea-lange.
Keywords:
Arts, Justice, Courage, Creativity, Responsibility, Selflessness, Challenge Injustices, Make a Difference, STEAM
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