A young migrant mother with her children. Produced as part of the F.S.A.
This is another photo from the “Migrant Mother” collection within the Farm Security Administration – Office of War Information Photograph Collection in the Library of Congress. The photo is of a young mother, Florence Thompson, and two children during the Great Depression.
This image was shot in 1936 by Dorothea Lange, an agent of the United States government within the F.S.A. It is therefore assumed to be within the public domain.
56 megabyte TIFF. Hosted at the Library of Congress.
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03.17.10
This image focuses on a mother holding her infant child and her other child leaning against her back. Just the positioning of the three subjects in the frame show me how much these two young children are depending on their mother to support and take care of them. The woman shows the weight of this responsibility in her expression, her mouth set in a determined line, her eyes not looking at the camera, but searching the background for an answer, a solution. The trio are sheltered an a make shift tent, fabricated from a large branch and a piece of tent canvas. In front of them are items of necessity, cherished items in the camp; a kerosene lantern, a trunk, and a tin plate. Behind them is a bleak landscape, barren and harsh. We see scrub brush and a blurring of trees that the make shift tent shelters the family from. This image presented in black and white, stripped down and raw portrays the plight of families in the Dust Bowl era. The hardened and determined look on the mother’s face-literally holding up her two children, only sheltered from the elements and the harsh reality of the Great Depression by a thin piece of canvas speaks to me and I can feel her pain, as well as her resilience.
03.27.10
Migrant Mother With Children The image is black and white photo where a mother is holding an infant in her arms and the other child is leaning against her back placing his head of her shoulder and holding the bough used for makeshift tent with one hand showing how dependant he is on his mother .On the back ground you can see a tree and barren land. Since there is a lantern next to the lady , it seems they are located in place where there is no electric facility. The empty plate in front of them suggest they hadn’t had any food and water for long .The clothes which they have worn looks dirty it seems they have not changed it for long .The suitcase which has been kept outside the tent suggest that they may have just shifted here or they are planning to move out to some other place.The face of the mother looks to be too tensed and engrossed in some deep thinking and waiting for someone with great deal of hope .The face of the boy which is standing behind the mother looks to be sad. Overall this picture depicts sorry state of a mother and her children who may have migrated from somewhere or planning to migrate and are in great agony.