FSA/OWI Favorites
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“Migrant Mother,” by Dorothea Lange, is the most famous photo in the Library of Congress. This 1936 portrait of Florence Thompson and her children symbolizes both economic hardship and the strength to survive. The Library is honored to preserve Lange's original camera negative and makes the digitized photo freely available.
"Migrant Mother" is part of a landmark photo documentary project based in the U.S. Resettlement Administration, the Farm Security Administration (FSA), and later the Office of War Information (OWI). The most active years were 1935-1943, and the entire collection was transferred to us in 1944.
“FSA/OWI Favorites” features 10 of the most frequently requested photos plus 15 staff selections to introduce you to the vast archive of about 170,000 negatives and 107,000 prints of life in America during the Great Depression and World War II.
Go to the FSA/OWI Collection in the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC) at LOC to explore more of these amazing photos by gifted photographers who worked with 35mm and large format sheet film. The digital resolution for most images is admittedly low, since the scanning was done in the mid-1990s.
You can jump into the collection in PPOC by typing a word likely to appear in a photo title, for example, “children,” “migrant,” “Fourth of July,” “house,” or “factory.” You can also browse for a place name or pick a photographer’s name from an index.
Don’t miss the “DISPLAY IMAGES WITH NEIGHBORING CALL NUMBERS” feature. It’s a great way to see related images in a photo story, including many negatives never printed (or captioned) for the FSA/OWI files. Looking at the outtakes helps understand the photographers and the selected stories. Mostly, it's a fun way to walk through history.
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Migrant Mother
Bibliography & Related Resources
Portraits of photographers
Color FSA/OWI photos on Flickr
EXPLORE! ... DISCOVER! ... BE INSPIRED!
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25 photos | 125,292 views
Comments on this set
Nesster says:Excellent idea, thank you for making these fantastic photos available in a set. |
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ennailuj says:Wonderful! I love seeing these full screen. Thank you!! |
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BoyHaveAfantasy says:You do realize that this photo is staged, right? And that they removed a thumb on the pole on the right in the darkroom. I know it doesn't take away the importance of the image at all. Just something to think about. Like Capa's famous picture from the Spanish civil war wasn't a true reportage shot either it turns out in 2009 when they got a hold of the contact sheet. I appreciate Dorothea Langes work as much as the next but as a photojournalist myself I can't help think what would happen if I staged my documentary photos too. And everyone did... |
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johnwalford says:What a gift! |
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Julie'sPicks says:Any chance there is a way to also display the camera equipment the photographers used? |
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kristina brendel says:These photographers are my heros, my inspiration. They gave the country images that changed made a difference. And they still do. |
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kevitra says:These are truely amazing photographs. Thank you for putting them online. |
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jody9 says:A moving and iconic set of images, a primer for photographers everywhere. Thank you! |
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Cindy7609 says:I completely agree with Jody9's comment. |
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rmcarrier1 says:Fantastic. |
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peter.l says:Fantastic and fascinating set! |
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«Gaurav» says:This is such a fantastic thing, almost all the photographs on it were instance favourites. Thank you for sharing these jewels! |
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steambadger says:Man, these are just invaluable. Mad props to the Smith for putting them up. |
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Kristi (LOC P&P) says:JuBud: We do not have official photographs of just the cameras used in the FSA Collection, as it did vary from photographer to photographer. However, if you look through these portraits of some of the FSA photographers, they are often holding their cameras, so you can get a hint of the tools of their trade: |
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jimhairphoto says:Dear LOC, |
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Roma ieri, Roma oggi di Alvaro de Alvariis says:Veramente delle immagini stupende! |
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lila38@yahoo.com says:É simplesmente de uma simplicidade esta foto, mas ao mesmo tempo, mostra a alma. |
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lreed76 says:Some of the most iconic photos anywhere. Thanks for making them easily available. |
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BobMeade says:There's a very good 1965 interview with Jack and Irene Delano which goes into some detail of the workings of the photographic unit of the FSA. See it here: |