Dorothea Lange (1895–1965) - Migratory Child at the End of the Day

Exhibition print from DOROTHEA LANGE - PHOTOGRAPHIEN, Galerie Bilderwelt, Berlin 1998 From LC-USF34-020580-C (b&w film neg. During her travels through the Pacific Northwest in the late summer and fall of 1939, famed documentary photographer Dorothea Lange produced over five hundred photographs for the Farm Security Administration (FSA). Her work in Oregon captured the social and cultural realities of rural life and migrant farmworkers during the Great Depression. Among her documented work in the state are specific images captured in Marion County in August 1939: • Bean Pickers and Children: Lange photographed seasonal agricultural workers in Marion County, notably capturing images of girls working as bean pickers and evocative portraits of the children of migrant workers. • Documenting Migration: Her subjects often included families who had recently migrated from other parts of the country in search of work, such as families arriving from areas like Joplin, Missouri. • Context and Captions: True to her signature style, Lange did not just take portraits; she also recorded detailed field notes and quotes from her subjects—asking them questions about why they left their homes and documenting their struggles to make a living. These Marion County photographs form part of her broader visual record of Oregon's agricultural landscape in 1939, which also spanned the Willamette Valley, the Columbia Basin, Malheur County, and other regions.

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