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Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California
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Dorothea Lange: Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California Dorothea Lange sits on the roof of a car with an open door, holding a camera and notebook, on a roadside in rural California, 1936. A mother sits with her children under a makeshift tent, surrounded by suitcases and belongings, in Dorothea Lange's 1936 photograph of a migrant agricultural worker's family. Florence Thompson sits with her children inside a makeshift tent, with one child leaning on a wooden chair in front, in a rural field near Nipomo, California, 1936. Florence Thompson, a migrant mother, sits in a makeshift tent holding an infant in her lap, looking worried. A lantern and belongings are visible beside her. Florence Thompson sits in a worn tent breastfeeding an infant, with a young girl standing beside her, both showing weary expressions, in Dorothea Lange's 1936 Migrant Mother series. Florence Thompson sits outside a tent with a worried expression, holding a baby in her lap while a young child leans on her shoulder, in Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother photograph. Florence Thompson sits outside a tent holding a baby in her lap, with an older child leaning on her shoulder, looking worried. Photographed by Dorothea Lange in 1936. Dorothea Lange: Migrant Mother “Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California” by Dorothea Lange, 1936.
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Dorothea Lange: Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California
Dorothea Lange: Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California, photograph by Dorothea Lange, 1936; in the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California

photograph by Dorothea Lange, primary source
Also known as: “Human Erosion in California”
Written by
Mindy Johnston
Mindy Spitzer Johnston is Managing Editor at Encyclopædia Britannica. 
Mindy Johnston
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California, Dorothea Lange’s 1936 picture of migrant Florence Owens Thompson and her children, is widely regarded as one of the most iconic photographs of the Dust Bowl period of the Great Depression. It owes its existence to Thompson’s unfortunate car trouble and Lange’s inability to resist a nagging feeling that she should turn her car around. This unlikely combination of bad timing and documentary instinct produced an enduring symbol of resilience in...

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