Dorothea Lange

October 28, 2013
Published in tandem with an episode of the PBS American Masters series, this handsome monograph is the only career-spanning collection of Lange’s work currently in print. Accompanied by an informative biographical essay by the pioneering photojournalist’s goddaughter, this book reminds us why Lange’s unvarnished images of the working poor and other marginalized communities have distinguished her as one of the most important chroniclers of American life in the early 20th century. Lange (1895–1965), the first female photographer to put on solo show at the Museum of Modern Art, photographed what she called the “walking wounded”—people affected by the great crises of the Depression, the Dustbowl, and the interment camps of WWII. As evidenced by her most famous image, “Migrant Mother” (1936), Lange brilliantly captured the beauty and humanity behind the statistics, whether she was shooting the ex-slaves of Alabama, the field workers of Mississippi, Georgia, and California, the homes, businesses, and makeshift shelters of blighted communities, or the Irish, Korean, and Egyptian citizens she encountered while traveling the globe late in her career. Although this book provides just a sample of Lange’s vast and varied oeuvre, it’s a valuable introduction to the trove of human experience documented by Lange’s sensitive eye. More than 100 photos. Agent Steven Malk, Writers’ House.

December 1, 2013

This generously illustrated (more than 100 plates) monograph is a companion to a PBS American Masters episode airing in 2014. Partridge (writing, Vermont Coll. of Fine Arts; Restless Spirit: The Life and Work of Dorothea Lange), an established children's book author, examines the career and works of her godmother, Dorothea Lange, one of the 20th century's most important women photographers. Beginning as a portrait photographer in San Francisco in 1918, Lange worked for various state and federal entities during the 1930s and 1940s, recording pivotal moments during the Depression and World War II. Later, she produced images for books and popular magazines, traveled the world in the 1950s and 1960s, and took fine-arts photos. In 1966, Lange became the first woman photographer to have a retrospective solo exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art. Focusing on Lange's early works but also featuring a significant number of her later ones, this book is organized in the same way as a museum exhibition catalog, with a well-written, insightful introductory essay by Partridge. All the plates are captioned; some are showcased with quotations from Lange's interviews and letters. VERDICT Of interest mostly to general readers, students, and others, this survey of Lange's life and works is highly recommended for many public and some special and academic libraries.--Cheryl Ann Lajos, Free Lib. of Philadelphia

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.