Lange, Dorothea

Documentary photographer notable for her striking images of Depression era America. From 1917-1919, Lange started out as an independent portrait photographer in San Francisco, but soon began photographing the homeless in order to bring attention to their plight. In 1935, she joined the Farm Security Administration and reported on living conditions in rural areas. Her images show not only despair and loss, but also a sense of pride with which these people endured their circumstances. "Migrant Mother," a portrait of a world-weary mother and her three children is one of Lange's most well known images from this period.