Mark West on Dorothea Lange’s contributions to ‘The Family of Man’
Mark West, professor in the Department of English, contributed the guest profile ‘Recognizing Dorothea Lange’s Contributions to The Family of Man Exhibition on Its 70th Anniversary’ to DailyArt Magazine, one of the most widely read publications on art and art history.
Dorothea Lange is one of America’s best-known photographers, and played an important role in creating The Family of Man photography exhibition which opened at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City on January 24, 1955. January 2025 marks the 70th anniversary of the exhibition which holds the record as the most widely viewed photography exhibition in history.
“Over the years, The Family of Man exhibition has attracted a great deal of publicity. However, despite all the coverage of the exhibit, scant attention has been paid to the contributions of Dorothea Lange (1895–1965) to the exhibition,” writes West. “The 70th anniversary is a fitting time to recognize Lange’s key role in helping Edward Steichen make this project a reality as well to discuss the importance of the nine Lange photographs that Steichen included in the exhibit.”