“migrant mother”

nipomo mesa, california, 1936

original photograph by dorothea lange

ABOUT THE ORIGINAL PHOTO:

Original photo features Florence Owens Thompson and her daughters, Katherine and Norma. Lange and Thompson’s accounts of the day this photograph was taken differ - among other things, Lange claimed the family had sold its tires for food, which Thompson denied. Thompson also claimed Lange, a Farm Securities Administration photographer, told her the photo would never be published. It was published the next day, and brought resources to destitute migrants in the area. By then Thompson, a 32 year old Cherokee widow, and her family had moved on. The identity of the woman in the photo was a mystery until Thompson cam forward in the late 1970s, saying she felt “exploited” by the photo.