Dorothea Lange was an American photographer born in 1895 in Hoboken, New Jersey. She began her career in 1914 with professional photographer Arnold Genthe. Genthe gave Lange her very first camera and this began her unbridled passion for photography. In 1917, Lange attended Columbia University where she got the opportunity to study with renowned photographer, Clarence White. Shortly after completing her studies she began her legendary career in San Francisco as a freelance photographer.
It wasnt long before she established her own studio in Berkley, California. Dorothea Lange was not finished there she had bigger plans. She began to walk the streets of California and apprehend the essence of the homeless and poverty that was beginning to overwhelm the population. Becoming uncomfortable with the poverty that she was capturing, Dorothea decided that she could not just stand by and take photographs. So in 1935 she became the photographer in the California Rural Rehabilitation Administration.
During the course of this project Dorothea was able to not only document the poverty, but also show just how much dignity the Americans upheld during the Great Depression. Six years later she was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship for the photographic study of the American social scene. Unfortunately, due to poor health Dorothea was forced to stop working for several years. However, in 1950 she was able to conduct several seminars and participated in many photographic conferences.
Unable to stay away from the photography scene she accepted a job with Life magazine in 1954. It wasnt long before Dorothea went back to freelance photography. Dorothea and her husband went on assignments in Asia, South America, and the Middle East. Nonetheless, Dorotheas poor health overcame her once again and in 1965 she passed away. She died of cancer just a few days before her major retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.