Dorothea Lange: Photographs Of A Lifetime (Aperture Monograph) [Hardcover]

Robert Coles (Author), Dorothea Lange (Photographer), Therese Heyman (Contributor)

Book Description

Series: Aperture Monograph | Publication Date: June 15, 2005

Reprinted for the first time, this is the most comprehensive collection of the photographer's work ever published. It includes portraits from her early years as a fashionable studio photographer as well as classic images that established her as the preeminent documentary artist of her time. "Dorothea Lange: Photographs of a Lifetime captures--like all of her work--the extraordinary in the commonplace, with rare candor, compassion, and dignity." --Elle magazine.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This collection of 100 stark pieces of Lange's work captures the lives of the hard-pressed from dustbowl farmers right out of The Grapes of Wrath to photos of Ireland and Egypt. The text also incorporates an essay by Harvard psychiatrist and social investigator Coles. Many of the photos are accompanied by excerpts from Lange's writings (LJ 12/1/82).
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Robert Coles, editor of DoubleTake, has published articles in such publications as The New Yorker, The New Republic, and The American Poetry Review.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 184 pages
• Publisher: Aperture (June 15, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0893816574
• ISBN-13: 978-0893816575
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 10 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #179,064 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #60 in Books > Arts & Photography > Photography > Criticism & Essays

More About the Author

Dorothea Lange (1895-1965) was an influential American documentary photographer and photojournalist, best known for her Depression-era work for the Farm Security Administration (FSA). Lange's photographs humanized the tragic consequences of the Great Depression and profoundly influenced the development of documentary photography.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Photographs of a Lifetime, May 25, 2001

By 

Katie Humpherys (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dorothea Lange: Photographs Of A Lifetime (Aperture Monograph) (Hardcover)

I had just recently seen a Lange exhibit when I bought this wonderful book. It starts with an essay on Lange by Robert Coles. Then it moves into her photographs and her own words. Her work is beautiful on its own, but to have the photographs and her philosophy side by side is an enriching experience. The photographs fill the entire book so it's a great read and a nice coffee table book. The images are primarily from her depression photos, but there are also pictures from around the world, her family and her early portraits. I also like that they included photographs of her and her oak trees. Dorothea Lange was a woman with such a unique perspective on life. I feel that this book does an excellent job of presenting her work.

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Photographic Collection, October 13, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Dorothea Lange: Photographs Of A Lifetime (Aperture Monograph) (Hardcover)

This anthology is a well-packaged, heart-warmingly first-person annoted retrospective of Lange's career. Enlighening glimpses into Lange's personal point-of view are offered here, showcasing her stark Depression-era WPA migration shots alongside her later vignettes of the American western plains and western coastal dwellers captured in their every day routines. Therein lies this collection's strength and weakness: while her Americana movement captured a rural slice of America which later mediums still struggle to duplicate, that subject matter still did not match the sheer horror and power of her WPA work, which captured the raw strength of the human spirit during life-threatening crises. The diversity of this collection makes it an essential introductory volume, however.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a beautiful collection, March 5, 2008

By 

Paul S. Jellinek (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Dorothea Lange: Photographs Of A Lifetime (Aperture Monograph) (Hardcover)

This is a beautiful collection of this outstanding photographer's work, with a special emphasis on her Depression-era work. Highly recommended.