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"A Destitute Mother: The Type Aided by the WPA"

"A Destitute Mother: The Type Aided by the WPA"

Dorothea Lange
American, 1895–1965
March 1936
A gelatin silver print subtly retouched with gouache and airbrush, Dorothea Lange’s photograph depicts a Depression-era migrant mother and her children to reveal the human cost of economic collapse and to mobilize public sympathy and relief.
You’re struck by the mother’s weathered, pensive face and distant gaze, tightly framed with two children hiding their faces as hand-applied highlights and an airbrushed background intensify the intimate, urgent feeling.
This image became an emblem of 1930s documentary photography—showing how a single, carefully composed and retouched photograph could influence public opinion and relief policy while also provoking lasting questions about representation and photographic intervention.
Medium
Gelatin silver print with gouache (painted and airbrushed), ink and grease pencil
Dimensions
10 × 7 11/16" (25.5 × 19.6 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
The New York Times Collection
Accession
2034.2001
Palette
Exhibitions
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