Artist Analysis: Dorothea Lange

The artist known as Dorothea Lange is renowned as one of the most influential photographers of the Great Depression. This unit of study is focused on the in-depth history of Lange, her art collection as a whole, her aesthetic appeal to the public, and how to apply her work to a production lesson for 4th or 5th grade. Dorothea Lange was born Dorothea Margaretta Nutzhorn in Hoboken, New Jersey on May 25, 1895 to Henry Nutzhorn and Joanna Lange. In 1901 Martin, Dorothea’s brother, was born to the family. Only a year later, at the age of seven Dorothea contracted Polio, which left her with a weakened right leg and permanent limp. This was a point of contention between her and her mother in her early life. Her mother was concerned that her disfigurement

They pooled their money and took off for their trip, however, on their stop in San Francisco the duo was hit with tragedy. The girls were out to lunch and when they went to pay realized that their purse was open and their money gone. With no money between the two they quickly found jobs to support themselves. Dorothea looked up jobs in photofinishing and was able to work in a small shop. To get access to a dark room she joined a camera club and it was through that club that she found her big break into her own photography business. She met a man by the name of Sidney Franklin, who was looking for new investments and decided he would set Dorothea up with her own portrait studio. Something that was practically unheard of in 1919. By luck a wealthy woman saw Dorothea’s work and decided to commission her to do portraits of her family. Soon Dorothea had many wealthy clients, enough to keep her bust throughout the entire year. For those first years Lange did almost no personal photography, due to how busy her portrait business was. When looking at this early work you can see the painstaking time that went into each photograph. Lange was working with 8x10 plates which unlike the 35mm cameras she had to set up each plate individually and position her subjects’ just right. While in her studio one day Lange heard loud footsteps overhead and soon met artist Maynard Dixon, a famous painter who

One day she saw an unemployed man outside her studio window and stated she felt compelled to follow and take photos. She started to walk around town with her big, heavy Graflex Super D camera, and took photographs of the hardships she saw. She is well known for giving a clear image of just what the average working person was going through during that time. Her images ranged from the dockworkers striking to men standing in line at a soup kitchen. The latter leading to her photograph White Angel Breadline, which became her first nationally recognized photograph, and lead to her being commissioned by FDR’s Farm Security Administration. While working with FSA in 1935 Lange traveled throughout the country photographing the conditions migrant workers were being forced to live in. It was during this project that Dorothea met Paul Taylor, an economist that was also commissioned by FSA to write down what he sees while Lange documents with photos. It’s said there was an instant connection between Paul and Dorothea who worked closely for many months, and lead to both of them divorcing their spouses and starting a relationship between themselves; the two were married by the years end. They traveled together for four years documenting the troubles of the central and lower United States. Dorothea felt it was important to make sure that word was