There are rare moments when a single photograph captures the essence of a time and place with such conviction and clarity, that it takes on a life of its own and becomes an immortal symbol of an era.
Dorothea Lange’s portrait of Florence Owens Thompson and her children, which became known as ‘Migrant Mother’, is such a photograph. The intimate portrait of a woman with a weathered face, who Lange described as a ‘‘hungry and desperate mother’, struck a chord with the nation when it was first published and went on to become a photo icon that visually and emotionally defined the decade of the Great Depression.

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The book to Dorothea Lange’s work for the Farm Security Administration:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dorothea-Lange-Paul-Taylor-American/dp/2858935130

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Copyright Credits:
Dorothea Lange interview: Oakland Museum of California
Great Depression: Flashback Television Ltd.
Interview Norma Rydlewski & Katherine McIntosh: Washington University Film and Media Archive
Interview Florence Owens Thompson: NBC News

Research Sources: David C. King - Dorothea Lange, Photographer of the People
Milton Meltzer: Dorothea Lange: A Photographer’s Life
Library of Congress
Oakland Museum of California
Moma.org