Sotheby's October Prints Sale Features Early Dorothea Lange 'Migrant Mother' Print, Valued at $150K
The October auction for Prints and Photographs at Sotheby's commenced online, featuring an incredibly early print of Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother, which is estimated to fetch between $100,000 and $150,000. Created in 1936 and likely printed shortly thereafter, this piece is making its auction debut. Sotheby's highlights that the print includes the Resettlement Administration's credit stamp and displays Florence Owens Thompson's thumb in the lower right corner, a detail absent in later versions. Lange captured this iconic image in March 1936 while documenting migrant workers in California. Additionally, Hiroshi Sugimoto's Radio City Music Hall, New York City, from his Theaters series, is also featured. This print, the first of five, measures 47 by 58 3/4 inches and has not been auctioned before. The complete auction can be accessed on Sotheby's website.
Key facts
- Sotheby's October Prints and Photographs auction is taking place online.
- An exceptionally early print of Dorothea Lange's Migrant Mother is estimated at $100,000 to $150,000.
- The print was executed in 1936 and likely printed between 1936 and 1937, and is at auction for the first time.
- It retains the Resettlement Administration credit stamp and Florence Owens Thompson's thumb in the lower right corner.
- Lange made the photograph in March 1936 near Nipomo, California, using a 4 x 5-inch Graflex camera.
- The image ran in the San Francisco News on March 11, 1936, illustrating 'What Does the "New Deal" Mean to This Mother and Her Child?'.
- Hiroshi Sugimoto's Radio City Music Hall, New York City is also featured in the sale.
- The Sugimoto print is number one of five, measures 47 by 58 3/4 inches, and has never been offered at auction.
Entities
Artists
- Dorothea Lange
- Florence Owens Thompson
- Hiroshi Sugimoto
- Steve McCurry
Institutions
- Sotheby's
- Resettlement Administration
- Farm Security Administration
- San Francisco News
- PetaPixel
Locations
- New York City
- California
- Berkeley
- Nipomo
- United States