Dorothea Lang is most famous for her work creating portraits of displaced farmers during the Great Depression. Dorothea was born in New Jersey on May 26 of 1895 and her father was a lawyer while her mother stayed at home with Dorothea and her brother Martin. Contracting polio at the age of 7 her right leg and foot were weakened which she later counted as a blessing saying “[It] was the most important thing that happened to me, and formed me, guided me, instructed me, helped me and humiliated me”. Her parents divorced in her teen years which caused her to take her mother's name. Her parents were strong advocates for her education and exposed her to creative works when she was young. She decided to pursue photography after a stint working in the NYC photo studio. She then studied art in Colombia and took on many apprentice jobs for many famous photographers such as Arnold Genthe and Clarence Hudson White.