Photographs by: Dorothea Lange, Rondal Partridge and Ruth-Marion Baruch

This exhibition is part of Lumière’s Great Women of Photography series…following on the 2008 showing of the work of Berenice Abbott and Imogen Cunningham.

Dorothea Lange’s images from The Great Depression, Asia and Ireland, combine a sense for the camera with empathy for the subject. The exhibition includes widely recognized iconic images as well as less frequently seen photographs. Many were included in the 1966 MoMA (New York) retrospective on her career. Lange’s depression-era photographs were symbols of the period. In some ways, their universal recognition dwarfed her work that came later. Yet…the images from Asia, the Middle East and Ireland shown here, highlight her continuing adventurous spirit and consistent focus on the human element that established her reputation. This work, in the last stage of her illustrious career, reflect the breadth of her experiences over those many earlier decades. ‘The human face” she said, “ is the universal language”.

Rondal Partridge has spent the last seventy years photographing subjects as diverse as the changing face of Yosemite, rodeos, flea markets, portraits and still life subjects. As the son of photographer Imogen Cunningham and apprentice to both Dorothea Lange and Ansel Adams, Partridge reflects this exposure while developing his own style from his fascination with the world around him. The work in this exhibition include photographs from the depression era period in the field with Dorothea Lange, intriguing abstract images, his elegant platinum prints of botanicals and his sense of humor with signage.

Ruth-Marion Baruch’s photographic career was at the center of the vibrant California school of photography that included luminaries such as Lange, Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, and Baruch’s husband, Pirkle Jones. She was the first woman to complete a graduate degree in photography; her thesis explored the work of Edward Weston. “Walnut Grove: Portrait of a Town” was exhibited at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 1964. The forgotten town on the Sacramento River Delta was photographed in collaboration with her husband, Pirkle Jones, and reflects the photographers’ eye for the culture and people of this California farming community. With strong cultural contrast to Walnet Grove and Haight-Ashbury, Illusions for Sale is a candid series of photographs taken of women shopping in Union Square. Exhibited at SFMoMA in 1966, it links a sense of happiness and consumerism. The Haight-Ashbury portfolio was exhibited at the M. H. De Young Museum in 1967, during the “Summer of Love”.

Featured in this exhibition is the work of three photographers.

Select the image below to view the complete artist page for these photographers.

Dorothea Lange

Rondal Partridge

Ruth-Marion Baruch

November 24, 2009

View Jeffery Brown’s interview of Linda Gordon about her recently published book Dorothea Lange, A Life Beyond Limits. Linda Gordon is the Florence Kelley Professor of History at New York University. She is the author of numerous books of history and has been the recipient of the Bancroft Prize. This segment originally aired on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on November 23, 2009

September 2014
American Masters is airing a documentary on Dorothea Lange directed by her granddaughter Dyanna Taylor.
To view the entire 1 hour 50 min film follow this link to the American Masters web site

High Museum of Art, Hill Auditorium

Film Screening and Panel Discussion, featuring John Dixon (Dorothea Lange’s son), Filmmaker Tom Ropelewski, and Jennifer McFarland. The program featured a “preview” from “Child of Giants,” a documentary by Tom Ropelewski. The film centers on the life and family relationships of Dorothea Lange and her husband, noted painter, Maynard Dixon, as seen through the eyes of their son, Daniel Dixon. The preview included commentary by Daniel and John Dixon. Segments also included observations with photographers Rondal Partridge and Christina Gardner, who worked intimately in the field with Lange. Lumière was pleased to host the event with the High Museum’s Curator of Photography, Julian Cox.
The event was also a collaborative effort with Atlanta Celebrates Photography.

Above is a trailer of the film which was completed and released the following year in 2010.
More information can be found on the web page, Child Of Giants.com