In the back room of Port Allen’s West Baton Rouge Museum, one can find a recently revealed national treasure — the “Dorothea Lange’s America” exhibition. 
The popular exhibition showcases the works of renowned photographer Dorothea Lange, best known for her black-and-white photograph, “Migrant Mother.” 
Charice Robins, a recent University history graduate who works for the museum, said she was excited to see that the exhibit attracts not only young crowds, but also elders in the community who lived during the Great Depression.
Robins called the exhibit “refreshing” and “extremely educational.”
Photographed by Lange in March of 1936, “Migrant Mother” depicts a mother’s battle to provide and care for her seven children during the Depression.
“[Students] don’t know much about [the Depression]…Now they do,” Robins said.
During the economic downfall of the ’30s, Lange’s photograph captured the harsh realities many families endured across America. 
Her other works, including “Unemployed Men on Howard Street” and “Girl with Mattress Springs,” also illustrate the brutal hardships Americans faced. 
Author Linda Gordon, who is quoted in the exhibit, wrote about the way Lange’s photography changed Americans’ perspectives of themselves and their country. “Her message — that beauty, intelligence and moral strength are found among people of all circumstances — has profound political implications,” Gordon said. “Her greatest commitment, though, was what she called ‘the visual life.’”
Lange’s photography embodied the resilience and beauty in everyday people, such as mothers, sharecroppers and children.
In one photo entitled “Bessie, Daughter of Zion, Mother of Three,” Lange describes American country women as “women of the American soil.”
“They are a hardy stock. They are the roots of our country. They are not our well-advertised women of beauty and fashion. These women represent a different mode of life. They are of themselves a very great American style. They live with courage and purpose, a part of our tradition,” Lange’s quote in the exhibit reads.
Along with Lange’s photography, there are also readings available and an educational video provided by the museum. 
Lange also spent time touring Louisiana, as the exhibit hosts a section of photos Lange took in various areas of the state, including Bayou LaFourche and Shreveport. Lange’s work in the South focused on individuality and personality, highlighting the African-American community as shown in the 1937 photograph, “Louisiana Negress” — a portrait of a proud black woman shielding her face from the hot Louisiana sun with an umbrella.
“Dorothea Lange’s America” is available for viewing until Oct. 30 at the West Baton Rouge Museum.

Gallery • 11 Photos

Caroline Magee

Dorothea Lange's "Women in trailer camp" sits on exhibit on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016 at the West Baton Rouge Museum in Port Allen.