Image via WikipediaIn these times of economic hardship we remember Dorothea Lange's famous photo labeled "Migrant Mother (1936)" It was taken of Florence Owens Thompson and became immediately identifiable as the image of the "Great Depression".The Mother of seven children, Ms. Thompson died of heart problems and cancer in Scotts Valley, California in September of 1983. She was laid to rest at the Lakewood Memorial Park Cemetery in Hughson, California. In awe inspiring words, the epitaph on her headstone reads, "Migrant Mother – A Legend of the Strength of American Motherhood".
Florence's car broke down while driving Highway 101 in California so she began to set up inside a pea picking camp in Nipomo Mesa. While her boyfriend, Jim Hill went to get help for their car, Dorothea Lange drove up and began taking photos of Florence and her family. Dorothea took 6 pictures total.
It wasn't until the late 70's that Florence Thompson's true identity was made known. A reporter by the name of Emmett Corrigan from the Modesto Bee, located Thompson visually recognizing her from the photograph.
Thompson later wrote a letter that was published in The Modesto Bee and circulated by the Associated Press entitled "Woman Fighting Mad Over Famous Depression Photo." Florence was quoted as saying "I wish she [Lange] hadn't taken my picture. I can't get a penny out of it. She didn't ask my name. She said she wouldn't sell the pictures. She said she'd send me a copy. She never did". (Dunne, Geoffrey (2002). "Photographic license", New Times)
Because Lange took the picture for the federal government she never directly received any royalties as The image has been in the public domain since Lange had worked for the US Government, although it did give a huge boost to Lange's career.
Some of the photos ran almost immediately in the San Francisco News, and within days, the pea picking camp received over 20,000 pounds of food from the federal government, unfortunately, Florence and her family had already moved on by the time the food arrived.
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