What happened to Dorothea Lange Migrant Mother?

Florence died of “stroke, cancer and heart problems” at Scotts Valley, California, on September 16, 1983 at age 80. She was buried in Lakewood Memorial Park, in Hughson, California, and her gravestone reads: “FLORENCE LEONA THOMPSON Migrant Mother – A Legend of the Strength of American Motherhood.”

How did Dorothea Lange take Migrant Mother?

While touring the country on behalf of the agency, Lange came across a hungry and desperate mother and took several pictures of her, one of which would become known as Migrant Mother. Dorothea Lange believed the camera was an instrument of democracy. She tried to be open-minded and approached her subjects with respect.

What happened to the subject of Migrant Mother?

In 1983, Thompson had a stroke. Her children, unable to pay the hospital, used her identity as the Migrant Mother to raise $15,000 in donations. The money helped to defray Thompson’s medical bills, but Thompson herself gained nothing. She died soon after her stroke.

What is the story behind the photo Migrant Mother?

It’s one of the most iconic photos in American history. From the moment it first appeared in the pages of a San Francisco newspaper in March 1936, the image known as “Migrant Mother” came to symbolize the hunger, poverty and hopelessness endured by so many Americans during the Great Depression.

Why did Dorothea Lange become famous?

Dorothea Lange was an American photographer most famous for her photography of agricultural workers and their migration during the Great Depression. Her most famous photograph is the iconic, Migrant Mother , Nipomo, California (1936), which endures as the defining image of the era.

Why did Dorothea Lange take photos?

Dorothea Lange was a photographer whose pictures of struggling families during the Great Depression made her famous. Lange’s photographs hang in art museums, but she didn’t think of herself as an artist. She took pictures for a practical reason. She wanted to bring people’s suffering to public attention and inspire others to help.

What is the story behind Migrant Mother?

The Story Behind “A Migrant Mother” (1936) In March of 1936, a woman named Florence Owens Thompson was traveling north from Los Angeles with her husband and their seven children. They had just finished a job picking beets and heard rumor of a lettuce farm that was hiring in the Pajaro Valley.

What inspired Dorothea Lange?

Dorothea Lange is an inspiration both because of her artistic integrity and her simple commitment to treating every human being with respect, whether that person was a wealthy customer at her portrait studio or a homeless vagrant standing in a bread line.