Alfred Eisenstaedt's V-J Day Kiss
There may be nothing like a dame, but there's something about a sailor--Alfred Eisenstaedt's famous V-J Day photo of a sailor sweeping a nurse off her feet in a jubilant kiss has a prominent place in our common imaginations.
Alfred Eisenstaedt (December 6, 1898[1] – August 24, 1995) was a German American photographer and photojournalist. He is renowned for his candid photographs, frequently made using a 35mm Leica M3 rangefinder camera. He is best remembered for his photograph capturing the celebration of V-J Day. Learn More about him here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Eisenstaedt
V-J Day was "Victory over Japan Day". Learn more about it here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-J_Day A excerpt from this article appears below.
More about this famous photo:
One of the most famous photographs ever published by Life, V–J day in
Times Square was shot in Times Square on V-J Day. Alfred Eisenstaedt
was in the square taking candids when he spotted a sailor
"running along the street grabbing any and every girl in
sight," he later explained. "Whether she was a grandmother,
stout, thin, old, didn't make any difference. I was running ahead of
him with my Leica looking back over my shoulder... Then suddenly, in a
flash, I saw something white being grabbed. I turned around and
clicked the moment the sailor kissed the nurse." Eisenstadt was
very gratified and pleased with this enduring image, saying:
"People tell me that when I am in heaven they will remember this
picture."
The participants in the kiss were never confirmed by Eisenstaedt, whose notes on the photo were not found after his death in 1995. Life, however, accepted nurse Edith Cullen Shain's claim to this honor in a handwritten letter to Eisenstaedt 35 years later. Shain was 27 on V-J Day. Over 20 men have claimed to be the sailor, but none has been positively identified. The sailor was identified by the Naval War College in August 2005 as George Mendonça, of Newport, Rhode Island, although many other men have claimed the honor.[2] However, Shain has said she believes the man to be former New York City police detective Carl Muscarello. Houston Police biometrics expert Lois Gibson identified the sailor in the picture as Glenn McDuffie.[3]
Comments and faves
ktrapp2003, exitthroughthedoor, ji1103, simplywilkinson, and 75 other people added this photo to their favorites.
spantil (51 months ago | reply)
here's a snapshot of the statue in San Diego based on this picture:
www.flickr.com/photos/spantil/2381824105/
seattletim (51 months ago | reply)
WOW! Thanks for sharing that - very cool!
vlsh.patel (50 months ago | reply)
Wow
zona di fotographia (48 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Requiem for a photograph., and we'd love to have this added to the group!
seattletim (47 months ago | reply)
www.flickr.com/photos/tonythemisfit/271733121 8/?addedcomm...
More info on the photographer is at the above link.
***Yuna*** (47 months ago | reply)
Seen in
***FLICKRPEDIA*** House of Knowledge
***Flickrpedia*** House of Knowledge
So cool and interesting, thanks = )
feliciolivar (46 months ago | reply)
I always loved this photo as a little girl. I thought it was romantic.
Amalie Rabbit [deleted] (46 months ago | reply)
thankyou so much for posting this, i've been looking for it everywhere!
seattletim (46 months ago | reply)
It is romantic. . . and you are welcome, Monkey.
☆•|-|oLLy•☆ (45 months ago | reply)
super =) wow !!!
marcellucray (45 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called worldlightning, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
a great classic kiss.........................!!!!!!!!!!!!
seattletim (45 months ago | reply)
If you think it is a great photo (and it is), take a moment to learn about the circumstances of it by clicking on the links above. This is a great piece of photojournalism.
klactoveesedstein (44 months ago | reply)
This is such a great classic photo, full of happiness and joy.
saltyn68 [deleted] (44 months ago | reply)
Truely one of the best photos ever.
just the wind? (37 months ago | reply)
i love this photo.. so classic. its always been one of my favorites.
hebneh (10 months ago | reply)
There's another photo of this couple, shot at just about the same moment, taken from the right. Unfortunately, it doesn't clearly show the faces of the man and woman clearly either.
When LIFE magazine asked for the people in the photo to identify themselves in the 1980s, not only were there 3 women who said this was them, but over 20 men as well.