Dorothea Lange: The Heart and Mind of a Photographer [Hardcover]

Sam Stourdzé (Contributor), A.D. Coleman (Contributor), Ralph Gibson (Contributor), Pierre Borhan (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2002

One of the most important documentary photographers of our time, Dorothea Lange's revolutionary work chronicled America's struggle with poverty during the Great Depression. Her widely reproduced, classic portrait from the 1940s, "Migrant Mother," is just one of the many unforgettable images found in her stunning oeuvre of documentary works. While there have been other books on Lange's photographs, none exist with the scope and breadth of this monograph, which comes from her archives at the Oakland Museum in California and includes numerous unpublished photographs.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Pierre Borhan is director of the Mission du Patrimonie Photographique in Paris, France. He lives in France.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: Bulfinch; 1 edition (June 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0821227912
• ISBN-13: 978-0821227916
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 9.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,569,427 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At Last, the Definitive Work on Dorothea Lange, March 9, 2005

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Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dorothea Lange: The Heart and Mind of a Photographer (Hardcover)

DOROTHEA LANGE: THE HEART AND MIND OF A PHOTOGRAPHER for the first time documents more completely the life and creative output of one of the most influential photographers of the 20th Century. Including photographs of Lange in her childhood and then progressing through the formal studio fashion photos that started her career to the stunning documentation of the dust bowl migrant workers of the 1930s to the final images in the 1960s, this compendium includes essays and comments by AD Coleman, Ralph Gibson, and Sam Stourdze that enhance the viewers' experience.

Dorothea Lange was as much a sociologist and commentator on the human condition as she was a consummate photographer. She moved through the world of disenfranchised peoples with a tenderness and vision that was never cloying: honesty as captured in her famous photographs was also from her view of the people she sought to memorialize. Her contribution to the knowledge of the plight of the poor is unfathomable.

Yet given all of this, the power of page after page of her works form the massive archives of the Oakland Museum, including many works never before published in book form, makes a statement no words can match. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, March 05

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Documentary photo art, July 19, 2006

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Robin Benson - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dorothea Lange: The Heart and Mind of a Photographer (Hardcover)

If you've read the standard biography of Dorothea Lange by Milton Meltzer (ISBN 0815606222) you'll enjoy this handsome photobook. Originally published in France it beautifully reproduces two hundred and sixty photos (in 250dpi) of her work owned by the Oakland Museum of California.

Dorothea Lange has now, rightly of course, achieved iconic artist status and a steady stream of photobooks continue to appear. Her work is studied by cultural commentators looking for new interpretations of photos that were originally just a straightforward record of how many Americans lived in the Depression and early war years. Though not touched on in this book she provided incidents that will keep the photo world talking: her retouching of Florence Thompson's thumb holding the tent flap in 'Migrant Mother' (Stryker totally disapproved) or the dropping of a black object to attract the attention of a little girl in one of a the series of photos about a homeless family on the road in Oklahoma during June 1938.

The six essays in the book give an overview of her life including a very good one about 'An American Exodus', the 1939 photobook she compiled with husband, Paul Taylor (still available as a paperback reprint). The photos are spread between the essays and if I have a criticism it is that they are not divided into visual chapters. The sixty-eight FSA ones run on from others taken in the thirties. The eight from the Manzanar assignment run into the fifteen from the San Francisco Second Gold Rush series. Assignments dealing with the American Country Women, Irish Country People and The Public Defender likewise run together. The thirteen from the Defender series I thought particularly interesting and I'm not aware of this many being published before. Originally a 1955 commission from Life magazine that eventually took nearly two years but was not used by the weekly.

I think 'Dorothea Lange' is a stunning looking book of photos that can hardly be improved on.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful!, July 8, 2008

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John W. Mitchell (Colorado, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dorothea Lange: The Heart and Mind of a Photographer (Hardcover)

This book is very powerful on several levels. There is the obvious struggle of the people in the photos to survive the harshness of the Depression. Instances of profound despair, strength and resolve are masterfully captured. There is also the technical brilliance of Lange's photos - from composition, depth of field and contrast of shades. Most of all this book made me feel excited about the long reach and permanency of great photos; it inspired me to think about what I can accomplish the same with my photos. One of my favorite photo books!