Description of the Photograph "Migrant Mother"

The photograph portrays a middle-aged migrant mother with her three little children, all four of them with gaunt bodies. Clad in worn-out and dirty clothing, their outer appearance indicates a difficult life. At the bottom of the picture an infant is lying on the mother’s lap with its head resting on her left arm, where its face is half-hidden from the camera. The two older children have turned away from the camera. On the right side of the picture one child is clinging to its mother’s shoulder and burying its face in her neck whereas the one on the left side tries to hide itself behind the mother’s shoulder. The center of the photograph is occupied by the mother who is exuding an aura of sadness. Her worn and weather-beaten face bears witness to everything she has gone through. All her worries are apparent in the deep lines that furrow her face. The whole photograph leaves the observer with a strong feeling of sympathy, rooting for a better life for the mother and her three little children.

Dorothea Lange "Migrant Mother"