Who was Dorothea Lange?

The famous photo at the top of this issue – “Migrant Mother” – was taken by Dorothea Lange during The Great Depression. She began her career by doing photographic portraits. After the stock market crash of 1929, she and her husband, an economist, began a project to document the effect of The Great Depression on migrant workers in California. About “Migrant Mother,” she said:

“I was following instinct, not reason; I drove into that wet and soggy camp and parked my car like a homing pigeon. I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet. I do not remember how I explained my presence or my camera to her but I do remember she asked me no questions. I made five exposures, working closer and closer from the same direction.”

Here are some more of her images of the migrant workers: