The Photographs That Defined a Century
Between 1936 and 1972, the visually revolutionary and wildly popular images published in Life magazine shaped national conversations about war, race, technology, and more. In this video, see some of the most iconic photographs in “Life Magazine and the Power of Photography,” meet the trailblazing photographers who took them, and take a look at Life's photo editing process of carefully selecting and crafting narratives through images.
Produced by Black Math.
Image Credits
© LIFE Picture Collection.
Margaret Bourke-White, 1939. Photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt. © LIFE Picture Collection.
Fort Peck Dam, Montana, 1936. Gelatin silver print. LIFE Picture Collection. Photo by Margaret Bourke-White. © LIFE Picture Collection.
Robert Capa, 1945 © LIFE Picture Collection.
Alfred Eisenstaedt, 1944. Photo by Carl Mydans. © LIFE Picture Collection.
Carl Mydans, 1944. Photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt. © LIFE Picture Collection.
Larry Burrows, 1965. Photo by Larry Burrows. © LIFE Picture Collection.
Paul Schutzer, 1965. Photo by Paul Schutzer. © LIFE Picture Collection.
J. R. Eyerman, 1960. Photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt. © LIFE Picture Collection.
Margaret Bourke-White, 1946. Photo by Margaret Bourke-White. © LIFE Picture Collection.
David Douglas Duncan, 1953. Photo by Gjon Mili. © LIFE Picture Collection.
Ralph Morse, 1943. Photo by Ralph Morse. © LIFE Picture Collection.
Gordon Parks, 1948. © LIFE Picture Collection.
Harlem Gang Leader photographs and contact sheets. Photos by Gordon Parks. Courtesy of and © The Gordon Parks Foundation.
(p. 96–97) [Harlem Gang Leader opening spread], 1958. Life magazine. Illustrated periodical. Princeton University Art Museum. From Life magazine, November 1, 1948, pages 96–97. Photograph by Gordon Parks. Courtesy of and copyright The Gordon Parks Foundation. Text © 1948 LIFE Picture Collection.
Robert Capa, 1944. Photo by David E. Scherman. © LIFE Picture Collection.
Robert Capa, 1945. © LIFE Picture Collection.
Robert Capa, Ernest Hemingway, and driver, 1944. Photo by US Signal Corp. © LIFE Picture Collection.
D-Day invasion, 1944. Photos by Robert Capa. © International Center of Photography / Magnum Photos.
Margaret Bourke-White, 1943. Photo by Margaret Bourke-White. © LIFE Picture Collection.
Louisville Flood, 1937. Photos by Margaret Bourke-White. © LIFE Picture Collection.
Wilson Hicks, Daniel Longwell, John Billings, Hubert Kay, Margaret Bassett, and Howard Richmond, 1937–38. © LIFE Picture Collection.
Life Picture Department (Natalie Kosek), about 1946. © LIFE Picture Collection.
Flávio maquette and Life magazine spread. Photo by Carl Iwasaki via Getty Images; photograph by Gordon Parks. Courtesy of and © The Gordon Parks Foundation.
Iwo Jima contact sheet and Life magazine spread, 1945. Photos by W. Eugene Smith. © LIFE Picture Collection.
V-J Day, 1945. Photos by Alfred Eisenstaedt © LIFE Picture Collection.
Sailor reading copy of Life, 1942. Photo by Ralph Morse. © LIFE Picture Collection.
Tenth anniversary cover of Life, 1946. Photo by Herbert Gehr. © LIFE Picture Collection.
Soldiers reading Newsweek and Life, 1944. © LIFE Picture Collection.
Tule Lake internment camp, 1944. Photos by Carl Mydans. © LIFE Picture Collection.
“The Assassination of President Kennedy,” stills from a film by Abraham Zapruder. Zapruder Film. © The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza.
Photographs of Moon Landing from NASA. Images by NASA/The Picture Collection Inc. All rights Reserved.
“Watching the Moon Landing, July 21, 1969.” Photo by Don Baida. © Don Baida. Reproduced by permission.
Cover of Life, special edition, August 11, 1969. Photo by Neil Armstrong / NASA © LIFE Picture Collection.