Church on the Great Plains, South Dakota

1938

Dorothea Lange

Associated Names
Dorothea Lange

Artist, American, 1895 - 1965

The image is a black and white landscape photograph viewed from a slightly lower angle. A church is prominently placed in the distance at the top of a hill. The horizon is above the center of the image, with the small white church standing alone on it, sporting a cross at its pinnacle. The brushstrokes of this scene can be likened to the textures visible in the grasses dominating the terrain closest, providing a sense of gentle movement through varying shades of grey. The overall color palette encompasses a range of monochromatic tones, with lighter hues accentuating the church and clouds, contrasting against the darker textures of the earth and sky. Scattered fluffy clouds populate the sky, adding a sense of depth and expansiveness to the composition.
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Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Dorothea Lange, Berkeley, CA; private collection, New York; (Bruce Silverstein Gallery, New York); Daniel Greenberg and Susan Steinhauser, Van Nuys, CA, 20 October 2009; gift to NGA, 2016.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1982

  • Hoffman, Michael E., ed. Dorothea Lange: Photographs of a Lifetime. New York, 1982: 97.

1995

  • Davis, Keith F. The Photographs of Dorothea Lange. Kansas City, MO, 1995: 79.

Inscriptions

by unknown hand, top center in graphite circled: 1; on verso, top left circled: 17; center: [Polyconliod?] #4 / 3 " / x 8; across center in black crayon circled: 41019; lower left stamped in black ink: PHOTOGRAPH BY / DOROTHEA LANGE / 1163 EUCLID AVENUE / BERKELEY / CALIFORNIA; bottom center in graphite: DLA-00067-SP; bottom right: DL 005 MF14

Wikidata ID

Q64146816

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