Dorothea Lange: A Photographer Essay

Famous photographs of The Great Depression era taken by photographers such as Rothstein and Post Walcott, are now part of history and help many understand what it would have been like to experience The Great Depresssion. Photographers like Rothstein and Post Walcott began to take many different photgraphs in different places to try and depict how the United States was during The Great Depression era, photographs taken during this that are now widely known and have been seen by many through the ages. Many photographs taken were of Gee’s Bend, Alabama which portrayed life in a community made up of mostly african americans. There is wide variety of photographs taken at Gee’s Bend during different years, which can showsome substantial differences

The world has endured many issues and conflicts captured and seen through the eyes of many artists who have created masterpieces to document American history. This was no different during the years America suffered from The Great Depression starting in 1929, and he Dust Bowl that hit a year later in 1930. The photographers hired by the New Deal’s Farm Security Administration to document this time would end up taking images that would create lasting impressions for years to come.

Do you know what Dorothea Dix did to make this world a better place? Dorothea Dix assured the lives of the Union Army and the mentally ill, through hard-work and overcoming obstacles. As a kind and thoughtful person, Dix reserved a portion of her life towards the mentally ill. With time, another door opened leading her to another accomplishment, being Superintendent of Nurses. As superintendent, Dix chose and trained many nursed to assist her and take their job as seriously as she did.Over a course of time, Dorothea Dix showed that women could fulfill the duty of many difficult tasks.

The Great Depression was a time of poverty, unemployment, stress, frustration, and of course depression. During that era, many had known and heard about the depression. It wasn’t until a photojournalist, Dorothea Lange, had taken the pictures of a defeated worn out mother, that people had an accurate visual of the Depression. The picture was known as the Migrant Mother. Seeing it with their eyes, many saw a new different perspective of that era.

Dorothea Lange’s Migrant Mother is a photograph that documents a moment of distress within American history. The image works as a visual representation of suffering for those who were lucky enough not to live within the Dust Bowl region. To many it is uncertain if Lange’s image became an American Icon because of the struggle it presented or because of the eye capturing composition of it. However, with this image came forth the issue of a photos validity after photo manipulation, as Lange edited the image by removing the thumb of the mother who was a large subject. Despite the slight manipulation in Migrant Mother, the photograph still presents the situation truthfully, making the photograph function as both a work of art and a historical document.

On March 28, 1841, Dorothea Dix was invited to teach a Sunday class at East Cambridge, Massachusetts women 's jail. The invitation was at the right time because Dix have already heard how horrible the conditions and treaments of the mentally ill were in Massachusetts, it was just not justified. After her class she toured the jail and was appalled by what she had discovered. The innocent, guilty, and the mentally ill were combined in the unsanitary, crowded, cells of the East Cambridge jail. In addition, a keeper in the jail stated that the prisoners did not need heat or ventilation because they did not need it. With a strong character and high morality of Dorothea Dix, she immediately took action that led to the betterment of the

New photographers and journalists began to document imagery of everyday life and the hardship through the Dustbowl and The Great Depression. A famous photographer is Dorothea Lange. One picture that is famous by her is called "Migrant Mother," showed a gaunt young widow holding her three daughters, her careworn face suggesting that hope was running out. Dorothea Lange was working under Working under Roy Stryker, primarily under the Farm Security Administration (FSA), a small group of talented photographers, including Walker Evans, Marion Post Wolcott, John Vachon, Russell Lee, and Arthur Rothstein, documented the human, natural, and economic devastation of the region in photographs printed in federal publications as well as in a wide variety of newspapers and magazines. Another famous documentor portraying the world around us was John Steinbeck. He wrote a set of newspaper articles that year depicting in similar terms what Dorothea Lange’s photographs show. (Gregory,

To begin with, Lange helped perceive the poor living conditions of the 1900’s through her photo of the migrant mother and three children. For instance, Lange with her photo of the migrant mother helped raise awareness, for the federal government gave the pea pickers camp, where the migrant mother had been distinguished, “twenty thousand pounds of food”. (Starr 48) The photo of the unfortunate pea pickers helped people realize how hopeless they really were. This creating a willingness to help. Showing Lange's photography ability to create empathy through a simple photo. In addition, the mother was so desperate for help that when the picture was taking place, “there she sat in the lean-to-tent” motionless. (Starr 47) The migrant mother was so

Photography is everywhere in this World today. Advancements throughout the 1930’s where emotions were extremely impacted, helped to set the base for future advancements and ideas that would lie ahead for generations to come. The impact that photography had on the United States during the Great Depression in a time of dire struggle was unlike any other. This movement was able to document images that may never be able to be matched again in its uniqueness and emotional

The United States experienced both the Great Depression and harsh weather conditions during the 1930’s causing Americans to suffer through extreme hardship and impoverishment. Many of the migrant farmers were bankrupt, destitute, and struggled to survive. Photographer and photojournalist, Dorothea Lange, captured the dangerous conditions migrant workers and their families endured through her photograph, Migrant Mother. The photograph not only displays a woman and children suffering, but also reveals the determination and willpower the woman had to provide for her family.

Born in 1802, Dorothea Dix played an important role in changing the ways people thought about patients who were mentally-ill and handicapped. These patients had always been cast-off as “being punished by God”. She believed that that people of such standing would do better by being treated with love and caring rather than being put aside. As a social reformer, philanthropist, teacher, writer, writer, nurse, and humanitarian, Dorothea Dix devoted devoted her life to the welfare of the mentally-ill and handicapped. She accomplished many milestones throughout her life and forever changed the way patients are cared for. She was a pioneer in her time, taking on challenges that no other women would dare dream of tackling.

Everything seemed new to her. She began to paint for a living. Most women of her time did not work, but relied on their husbands for support. She rarely missed her children and only visited them once the entire summer. Edna felt alone.

Dorothea Lange became a well-known photographer with pictures of the Dust Bowl. According to Garland 2003 her photography obtained government relief for Dust Bowl migrants because she “visually demonstrated the hunger, poverty, hardship, and the plight of the migrants.”

To begin with, description is utilized to show that pictures are worth more than words. In Lange’s image, the woman looks exhausted and the children seem saddened. Viewers of the image see this by their facial expressions. For instance, two of the children are looking away from the photographer and the woman has no smile on her face. Moreover, onlookers observe how people lived during the Great Depression in the west coast. Viewers of the image see this by their clothing. For example, the woman and children are wearing tattered, dirty clothing. The overall picture represents what people went through during the Great Depression without ever telling the audience it was taken during this

Florence in the photograph portrays the real effects that the depression of 1929 had on people in the United States. The real intention