SUMMARY
Dorothea Lange's famous 'Migrant Mother' photograph, a symbol of the Great Depression, depicted Florence Owens Thompson, who later expressed resentment towards the image for the rest of her life. Lange took seven frames of Thompson and her children in a pea-pickers camp in 1936, but selected a tighter composition for the final, widely reproduced image. This famous frame excluded Thompson's older children and a visible thumb, which Lange later had retouched out of the negative, a decision that conflicted with her boss's principles of documentary authenticity.
TAKEAWAYS
Florence Owens Thompson, the subject of 'Migrant Mother,' resented the photograph for most of her life.
Dorothea Lange took seven frames, but the iconic image was a tightly composed selection.
A thumb, visible in early prints, was later retouched out of the negative by Lange's assistant.
The retouching of the negative was controversial, with some arguing it compromised documentary authenticity.