Small Farm of California, Contra Costa County

Small Farm of California, Contra Costa County presents a classic scene: a farmhouse with a barn and a windpump, cows placidly grazing on its pastures. A dramatic wind-blown tree stands in contrast to the hard edges of the barn, and the cattle fence provides a dynamic sense of perspective to the image. The work is a charming example of Dorothea Lange's landscape photography, a genre she was deeply interested in but not often recognized for.

The bucolic view depicted in Small Farm of California represents a moment of cautious optimism. The photograph was taken in November of 1938 as the United States was beginning to see the light at the end of the long tunnel that was the Great Depression. Unemployment levels were significantly lower and World War II was still years away.

Gone are the ravaged faces of desperate families that Lange made so famous, replaced by the beauty of rolling hills, dramatic trees, and America's big sky. The farm in the landscape represents the reassuring American ideal of self-reliance. It captures how the country wanted to see itself.