Dorothea Lange - by Milton Meltzer (Paperback)

About the Book

Originally published: New York: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, c1978.

Book Synopsis

Dorothea Lange's depression-era photographs became mythic symbols in their time and are exhibited worldwide as standards of classic photography. In this first biography of Lange, Milton Meltzer documents her development as an artist and provides a moving portrayal of a life burdened with illness and the conflicting demands of family and profession.

Review Quotes

As Meltzer develops his richly detailed study, the adventures of Dorothea Lange become as compelling as the unforgettable images she photographed-the anxious mothers surrounded by hungry infants, the sullen, staring men waiting in long city breadlines, the worn, dispirited farmers.-- "Newsweek"

It is one of the glories of Milton Meltzer's superb life of Lange . . . that his innate reporting skill and honesty forbade him to gloss over the complexities and conflicts.-- "New York Times Book Review"

Meltzer's book is significant both because it chronicles a life in photography in rare detail and because it raises questions about the uses and effectiveness of the medium. Meltzer's book makes clear how art and life can feed on or devour each other.-- "American Photographer"

About the Author

Milton Meltzer is the author of many books of history and biography, four of them nominated for the National Book Award. He lives in New York City.