Great Depression and New Deal Biographies | Dorothea Lange Biography

Born May 25, 1895
Hoboken, New Jersey

Died October 11, 1965

Berkeley, California

Photographer

"I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother, as if drawn by a magnet. I do not remember how I explained my presence or my camera to her, but I do remember she asked me no questions."

Dorothea Lange in "The Assignment I'll Never Forget: Migrant Mother"

Dorothea Lange, considered one of America's most important twentieth-century photographers, began her career as a traditional portrait photographer. However, by 1933, observing the desperate conditions of people who had lost their jobs and homes in the Depression, Lange felt compelled to leave her studio and go onto the streets...