The Other Pictures of Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother

The Other Pictures of Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother

In 1936, photographer Dorothea Lange took pictures at a pea pickers camp Nipomo, California, for a federal government agency. One of the images, a closeup of Florence Owens Thompson later dubbed Migrant Mother, illustrated Great Depression desperation as it was published and republished ever since and became a staple of history textbooks. Thompson was stranded at the camp with her husband and seven children after their car broke down. Lange neve…