A Powerful Image

Dorothea Lange (1895–1965)

Daughter of Migrant Tennessee Coal Miner, Living in American River Camp, near Sacramento, California, 1936

Gelatin silver print, before 1941

Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas

I had the opportunity to view Lange's photograph of the coal miner's daughter up close during a visit to the Amon Carter Museum last Sunday. I was captivated by the brilliance of the young woman’s natural beauty in contrast to the few simple belongings her family had brought with them from their Appalachian home. Lange’s skill in illuminating the resilience of the human spirit in times of stress is without equal. I was disappointed that Lewis Hine's Steamfitter, another iconic image of the 20th Century, was not on display that day.