| Migrant Mother | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Dorothea Lange |
| Year | 1936 |
| Catalogue | 50989 |
| Medium | gelatin silver print photograph |
| Subject | Florence Owens Thompson |
| Dimensions | 28.3 cm × 21.8 cm (11.1 in × 8.6 in) |
| Location | Museum of Modern Art, New York |
| Accession | 331.1995 |
Migrant Mother is a photograph taken in 1936 in Nipomo, California, by American photographer Dorothea Lange[1] during her time with the Resettlement Administration (later the Farm Security Administration).[2] The 28.3 by 21.8 cm (11 1/8 by 8 9/16 in) gelatin silver print depicts a mother anxiously gazing into the distance, with an infant in her lap and two older children huddling close by. The photo captures the plight of migrant farm workers who arrived in California en masse looking for employment during the Great Depression. Initially anonymous, the woman in the photo was identified as Florence Owens Thompson in 1978, following the work of a journalist for the California-based newspaper The Modesto Bee.[3]
Since its publication, Lange's work has become an icon of the Great Depression. It is in the public domain and has been widely reproduced in educational material, advertisements, and other media. Today, Migrant Mother is considered to be a part of the classic canon of American art and international photography. A print is housed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.[4]
- ^ Gottschalk, Molly (2018-01-12). "The Fateful Roadside Stop That Led to Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother"". Artsy. Archived from the original on 2021-01-17. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
- ^ "Dorothea Lange. Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California. 1936". www.moma.org. Archived from the original on 2021-10-08. Retrieved 2020-05-26.
- ^ King, Peter H. (October 18, 1998). "One defiant family escapes poignant portrait of poverty". The Fresno Bee. Section: Vision; Page F1.
- ^ Soltys, Hanna. "Research Guides: Dorothea Lange's "Migrant Mother" Photographs in the Farm Security Administration Collection: Introduction". guides.loc.gov. Archived from the original on 2021-12-08. Retrieved 2020-05-26.