2000.16
Meeting of the Mother's Club in Arvin Camp for Migrant Workers, . . .
Artist
Dorothea Lange
(Hoboken, New Jersey, 1895 - 10/11/1965, San Francisco, California)
Title
Meeting of the Mother's Club in Arvin Camp for Migrant Workers, . . .
Creation Date
1938
Century
20th century
Dimensions
8 3/16 in. x 10 1/16 in. (20.8 cm x 25.56 cm)
Classification
Photographs
Creation Place
North America, United States
Medium and Support
gelatin silver print
Credit Line
Museum Purchase, Gridley W. Tarbell II Fund
Copyright
This artwork may be under copyright. For further information, please consult the Museum’s
Copyright Terms and Conditions.
Accession Number
2000.16
The full title of the photograph, which is based on Lange’s notes, is Meeting of the Mothers’ Club in Arvin camp for migrant workers, a Farm Security Administration (FSA) camp. The discussion this evening centers on the possibility of buying kerosene oil in large quantities and distributing it cooperatively in camp, to cut costs. Kerosene is used both for cooking and for lighting purposes. Dorothea Lange, one of the most important photographers in the 1930s, is particularly well known for her work for the Farm Security Administration under the direction of Roy Stryker. Meeting of the Mother’s Club… was taken for the FSA when Lange’s career was well underway. The shot is typical of her photographic style: exquisitely framed, close in distance to her subjects who, by nature of their comfort, indicate Lange’s signature ability to capture both the factual and emotional drama of a scene.
