The Story Behind Dorothea Lange's Famous Depression Era 'Migrant Mother' Photograph

It’s one of the most recognisable images in American history—a stark and haunting portrayal of resilience amidst adversity. In Dorothea Lange’s famous photograph, a mother sits with her baby in her lap, her two older children huddled close, turning their faces away. The woman gazes into the distance, her hand resting against her cheek, anxiety etched in the furrowed lines of her face. From the moment this photograph appeared in a San Francisco newspaper in March 1936, it became an emblem of the struggles faced by millions during the Great Depression.

The story behind the photograph, however, and the life of the woman it features, Florence Owens Thompson, offers a far richer, more complex narrative than the single image can convey.

How the Photo Came to Be

Dorothea Lange was on assignment for the Resettlement Administration, a New Deal-era government programme aiming to document and aid the lives of displaced farmers and labourers. Driving along Highway 101 in San Luis Obispo County, California, in March 1936, she noticed a sign for a migrant workers’ camp near Nipomo. There, she encountered Florence and her children, living in squalid conditions alongside other families stranded by a failed pea crop.

“I saw and approached the hungry and desperate mother as if drawn by a magnet,” Lange later recalled. Florence, 32 at the time, told Lange they had been surviving on frozen vegetables and birds the children caught. She had reportedly sold the tyres from their car to buy food.

The photograph struck a chord across the nation. Shortly after its publication, the government sent 20,000 pounds of food to the camp. However, by then, Florence and her family had moved on in search of work.

Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother, The Woman Behind the Image

For decades, the identity of the woman in the photograph remained unknown. Florence Owens Thompson stepped forward only in 1978, writing to the editor of the Modesto Bee to identify herself and correct the record. Far from the archetypal Dust Bowl refugee, Florence was a full-blooded Cherokee born in Oklahoma in 1903. She moved to California in the 1920s with her first husband, Cleo Owens, who died of tuberculosis in 1931. Left a widow with six children, she supported her family by working as a field labourer, picking crops like cotton, often for more than 12 hours a day.

By the time Lange photographed her, Florence was living with Jim Hill, the father of her infant daughter, Norma. The family had broken down near Nipomo while en route to lettuce fields, leaving them temporarily stranded in the migrant camp.

Disputes and Complications

While Lange’s photograph immortalised Florence’s struggle, it did not tell her whole story. Florence’s children later disputed some of Lange’s claims, including the sale of tyres for food. Her son, Troy Owens, suggested Lange might have confused details from different families. “I don’t believe Dorothea Lange was lying,” he said. “I just think she had one story mixed up with another.”

What the photograph undeniably captured, however, was the resilience of a mother doing everything she could to keep her family alive. Florence would go on to have three more children and eventually settled in Modesto, California, after World War II, marrying George Thompson, a hospital administrator.

Life After Fame

By 1983, Florence was living alone in a trailer, battling cancer and heart problems. Her children, concerned about mounting medical bills, sought donations, and the response was overwhelming. Contributions exceeded $35,000, along with countless letters of admiration from people who had been moved by her story.

Florence passed away in September 1983, just after her 80th birthday. Even President Ronald Reagan marked her passing, describing her as “an American who symbolises strength and determination in the midst of the Great Depression.”

A Legacy of Strength

Dorothea Lange’s photograph gave a face to the suffering endured by countless families during the Great Depression. Yet the life of Florence Owens Thompson underscores a deeper truth—that behind every iconic image lies a complex individual story, shaped by perseverance, sacrifice, and an indomitable will to survive.

Florence’s family, while at times frustrated by the portrayal of their mother as a helpless figure, recognised the power of the photograph in bringing attention to the struggles of the working poor. Today, Migrant Mother is not just an image of despair but a testament to resilience, reminding us of the human cost of economic hardship and the strength it takes to endure.

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