Migrant Mother

This is one of the most famous photograph in US history. We have all seen it at one point, whether in a history book, a movie or in a photography book. However, many of us do not know the story behind the photograph beyond that it was taken during The Great Depression. Who is this woman? The woman in the photograph is Florence Thompson, she is a 32 year old married woman with 7 children. She was once a migrant pea picker in Nipomo, California but now the pea harvests are dry and there is no work. She was among 2,500 people in a camp set up, temporarily, for former pea pickers who were also out of work. This photograph did not become famous for many years. Not until the children in this photograph were nearly grown. It is known that the daughter on the left in the photograph tried to stop the photo from being published. The photo was placed in "The Family Man" exhibit in 1955 and was viewed by 9 million people! Interestingly enough the photo has been retouched...Barely visible now, there used to be a thumb in the bottom right hand corner. No one is quite sure why, but Dorothea Lange, the photpgrapher retouched the photo and erased the thumb. There is still speculation as to who the thumb belonged to.
-Christa