In 1953, Lange and Ansel Adams set out to photograph three Mormon towns in southern Utah for Life magazine. They created over 1,000 images of residents’ daily lives through portraits as well as photographs of buildings and the landscape. The photo-essay ran at a time when the United States was interested in its minority populations, having recently fought ethno-purist regimes during World War II. Lange’s photographs and captions link her subjects to their pioneer past and values like hard work and humility, casting them as quintessentially American.

This print and 28 others came to the Carter shortly before Lange’s death, when she was working with the Museum on a book and exhibition featuring images from throughout her career of “American country women.” Lange wrote that these women are “a hardy stock. They are the roots of our country.”

—Text taken from the Carter Handbook (2023)