Born: May 26th, 1895 Passed: October 11th, 1965 Dorothea Lange Born: May 26th, 1895 Passed: October 11th, 1965 By: Christina Owen

Biography of Dorothea Lange Dorothea Lange was a famous photographer in the Great Depression era in history she photographed the unemployed men who wandered the streets. She was born in Hoboken, New Jersey to her father Heinrich Nutzhorn who was a lawyer and her mother Johanna who was a stay at home mother. When Dorothea was 7 years old she was diagnosed with polio which left her right leg and foot noticeably weakened. And because of her disease she had said : “[It] was the most important thing that happened to me, and formed me, guided me, instructed me, helped me and humiliated me,” Just before Dorothea’s teen years her parents had divorced and she grew to blame her father for the divorce so she went and changed her last name to her mothers last name. Following high school, Lange, who’d never shown much interest in academics, decided to pursue photography as a profession. She had studied the art form at Columbia University. She had also worked for several different photographers including several different photographers, including Arnold Genthe, a leading portrait photographer.

Where to find the artists work: Dorothea Lange’s work is a type of documentary form but you can find her photographs in the magazine called “The American West: The Magazine of Western History. (May 1970)” Also you can find her work in a museum in Oakland, California called “Celebrating a Collection: the Work of Dorothea Lange” San Fran: 1939 Taken in San Francisco, California http://www.shorpy.com/node/16111

Type of photography The type of photography Dorothea Lange did was called the documentary form of photography she wanted to bring peoples hard times to public attention and inspire others to help. Lange was also hired by the federal government to take photos of farm families in California and the South. Daddy: 1939 Taken in North Carolina, Person County, near Gordonton http://www.shorpy.com/node/17819?size=_original

February 1937. "Tracy (vicinity), California. U. S. Highway 99 February 1937. "Tracy (vicinity), California. U.S. Highway 99. Missouri family of five, seven months from the drought area. Broke, baby sick, car trouble." Broke, Baby Sick: 1937 Taken in Tracy (vicinity), California, U.S. Highway 99 http://www.shorpy.com/node/15467

Near Earle: 1936 Taken in Earle, Arkansas http://www.shorpy.com/node/13290

The Happy Camper: 1938 Taken in Shafter Camp, California at a government camp http://www.shorpy.com/node/6663

Mother Caroline: 1939 Taken in Orange County, North Carolina http://www.shorpy.com/node/2455

- Daddy 1939: The main subject to this picture In all of Dorothea Lange’s photography she used natural lighting because a lot if not most of her photo’s were taken outside. San Fran 1939: The main subject of this photo is the city itself due to the fact the name of the photo is “San Fran” so I think she was telling us to look into the city. The composition of this photo is also leading lines because of the railroads leading into the city of San Francisco. I don’t really think that Dorothea was trying to tell a story with this photo. The reason I selected this photo amongst other ones is because I think that it’s a striking picture. - Daddy 1939: The main subject to this picture - Broke, Baby Sick 1937: - Near Earle 1936: - The Happy Camper 1938: - Mother Caroline 1939:

Links: http://www.biography.com/people/dorothea-lange-9372993#synopsis http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/list/128_migm.html http://www.eduplace.com/kids/socsci/ca/books/bkd/biographies/bk_template.jsp?name=langed&bk=bkd&authorname=langed&state=ca http://www.shorpy.com/dorothea-lange-photographs