Dorothea Collection (#9)

IRRIGATION CANAL, 1939. The concrete-lined Roza irrigation canal in Yakima County, Washington. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, 1939

NEWSSTAND, 1939. Newsstand in San Francisco, California. Photographed by Dorothea Lange, 6 January 1939

UTAH: DAM CONSTRUCTION. Workers load boulders onto a cart, excavating a new spillway of the Tropic Reservoir Dam in Widtsoe, Utah. Photographed by Dorothea Lange, 1936

FLAG CEREMONY, 1942. A group of children, including many Japanese Americans, at the Raphael Weill School in San Francisco, reciting the pledge of Allegiance. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, April 1942

ARKANSAS: LITTLE ROCK, 1938. Group of African-American boys playing on top of a soft drink stand in Little Rock, Arkansas. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, 1938

OREGON: HIDE SCRAPING, 1939. A Native American woman in Oregon, scraping an animal hide. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, 1939

MIGRANT FARMERS, 1937. Migrant potato pickers pitching their tent, near Shafter, California. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, May 1937

MIGRANT WORKERS, 1939. Group of migrant workers waiting to get water at a camp in Tulelake, California. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, September 1939

MIGRANT CAMP, 1939. Camp for migrant potato pickers in Tulelake, California. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, August 1939

MIGRANT CAMP, 1939. Kitchen supplies inside a tent at a camp for migrant workers, near Westley, California. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, April 1939

MIGRANT WOMAN, 1939. A grandmother at a migrant camp in Stanislaus County, California. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, April 1939

CALIFORNIA: ROAD, 1939. A country road between potato fields in Kern County, California. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, February 1939

RURAL SCHOOL, 1939. The entrance to Lincoln Bench School near Ontario, Malheur County, Oregon. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, October 1939

FARM FAMILY, 1939. A mother and her four children in front of their newly fenced and cleared land in Thurston County, Washington State. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, August 1939

DUGOUT INTERIOR, 1939. A farm wife seated in a one-room basement dugout in Dead Ox Flat, Malheur County, Oregon. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, October 1939

WATER PUMP, 1939. A farm wife and child pumping water from a well on a farm in Malheur County, Oregon. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, October 1939

FARM CHILDREN, 1939. A sister and brother standing behind a screen door of their farm home in Dead Ox Flat, Malheur County, Oregon. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, October 1939

OREGON: KITCHEN, 1939. A corner of a kitchen in a small farmhouse in Malheur County, Oregon. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, October 1939

OREGON: BARN, 1939. A farmer from Nebraska with his new barn on the Yamhill farms relief project in Yamhill County, Oregon. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, October 1939

OREGON: FARMERS, 1939. Farmers that bought machinery cooperatively while working on the Miller farm in West Carlton, Yamhill County, Oregon. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, October 1939

MIGRANT CAMP, 1939. A camp in a open field entering the town of Marlin in Klamath County, Oregon. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, September 1939

MIGRANT MOTHER, 1939. A migrant potato picker holding her baby in Tulelake, Siskiyou County, California. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, September 1939

OREGON: FARM, 1939. A tenant farmer building a house around a tent, near Klamath County, Oregon. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, August 1939

FARM CHILDREN, 1939. Three farm children with a bicycle, Thurston County, Washington State. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, August 1939

PEA PICKERS, 1939. Migrant pea pickers on a farm near Calipatria, California. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, February 1939

ALABAMA: FARMING, 1936. A tenant farmer family working in a cotton field, near Anniston, Alabama. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, June 1936

FLOOD REFUGEE, 1936. A son of a migrant worker eating roadside while traveling from Oklahoma to California. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, November 1936

TURPENTINE DISTILLERY, 1937. African Americans working in a turpentine distillery in the pine woods of Georgia. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, July 1937

COTTON PICKER, 1936. A cotton picker standing on a truck filled with cotton, Southern San Joaquin Valley, California. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, November 1938

PEACH HARVEST, 1938. A Utah farm family in the orchard during peach harvest, Near Springdale, Utah. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, August 1938

ELECTRIFICATION, 1938. Workmen installing electricity on the top of utility poles in the San Joaquin Valley, California. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, November 1938

MIGRANT CHURCH, 1936. A small wooden church for migrant workers near Blythe, California. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, August 1936

RURAL CHURCH, 1939. Men, women and children exiting Wheeleys Church after services in Person County, North Carolina. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, July 1939

RURAL CHURCH, 1939. The gathering of a congregation after church services at Wheeley s
RURAL CHURCH, 1939. The gathering of a congregation after church services at Wheeleys Church in Person County, North Carolina. Dorothea Lange, July 1939

IDAHO: RURAL CHURCH, 1939. An abandoned church in cut-over area in Boundary County, Idaho. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, October 1939

FARM GIRLS, 1936. Daughters of former sharecroppers holding a melon on the Mississippi Delta Cooperative Farm in Hillhouse, Mississippi. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, June 1937

IDAHO: MAILBAG, 1939. A roadside residential mailbag attached to a post in Gem County, Idaho. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, October 1939

TEXAS: MAIL WAGON, 1937. A horse drawn mail wagon in Marshall, Texas. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, June 1937

COOPERATIVE FARMERS, 1937. Former sharecroppers farming cotton on the Mississippi Delta Cooperative Farm in Hillhouse, Mississippi. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, June 1937

TRACTOR, 1937. A farmer using a tractor to plow a cotton field on the Aldridge Plantation in Mississippi. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, June 1937

FARM FAMILY, 1937. A cotton sharecropper family on the front porch of a farmhouse in Macon County, Georgia. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, July 1937

SHARECROPPER, 1937. Sharecroppers wife standing in front of a cabin south of Jackson, Mississippi. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, June 1937

RURAL CHURCH, 1939. Congregation entering Wheeleys Church in Person County, North Carolina. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, July 1939

TEXAS: COTTON, 1936. Migrant workers picking cotton in South Texas. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, August 1936

SQUATTERS CAMP, 1936. A mother and child crossing a stream in a squatters camp for migrant workers in California. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, November 1936

PEA PICKERS, 1939. A field of migrant workers picking peas on a farm near Calipatria, California. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, February 1939

MISSISSIPPI: FARM, 1937. A sharecroppers cabin with cotton and corn growing, near Jackson, Mississippi. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, June 1937

CALIFORNIA: COTTON, 1936. A cotton picker filling sacks of cotton for weighing in San Joaquin Valley, California. Photograph by Dorothea Lange, November 1936

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"Dorothea: Capturing the Stories of Struggle and Resilience" In 1936, Dorothea Lange embarked on a journey to document the lives of those affected by the Great Depression. One iconic photograph from her Migrant Mother series encapsulates the hardships faced by Florence Thompson, a 32-year-old migrant worker and mother of seven, as she cradles her children in a camp for migrant workers in Nipomo, California. Through Lange's lens, we witness not only the exhaustion etched on Florence's face but also her unwavering determination to provide for her family. Lange's lens didn't just focus on individuals; it captured entire communities grappling with adversity. In 1939, she turned her attention to Lincoln Bench School where young girls diligently studied their reading lesson amidst challenging circumstances. These schoolchildren symbolize hope and resilience despite facing uncertain futures. The photographer's work extended beyond capturing people struggling during economic crises; she also documented social issues plaguing society at large. In August 1939, Lange photographed an unemployed lumberjack with his wife in a migrant workers camp during the bean harvest in Marion County, Oregon. The man's social security number tattooed on his arm serves as a haunting reminder of how deeply poverty can affect one's identity. While "Dorothea" may evoke thoughts of other notable figures like Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers or Dorothy Jordan (1762-1816), it is this particular Dorothea Lange who left an indelible mark through her powerful images that shed light on human struggles across time and place. From Texas to Memphis in 1937, Lange captured signs that told stories themselves - like that of a hotel sign standing tall against economic turbulence. Her photographs serve as visual testimonies to remind us all of our shared humanity amidst trying times. Beyond photography alone, "Dorothea" encompasses various facets of history and culture.