Dunkan Devid Duglas

David Douglas Duncan was an American photojournalist known for his photographs on military themes, as well as for his extensive candid photographs of Pablo Picasso and his wife Jacqueline.

He was born in Kansas City, Missouri, where his childhood was marked by an interest in nature, which helped him earn the rank of Eagle Scout in the Boy Scouts at a relatively young age. Duncan briefly attended the University of Arizona, where he studied archaeology. Eventually, Duncan continued his education at the University of Miami, from which he graduated in 1938 after studying zoology and Spanish. It was in Miami that his serious interest in photojournalism began. He worked as a photo editor and photographer for the university newspaper.

His career as a photojournalist began when he took photographs of a hotel fire in Tucson, Arizona, while he was studying archaeology at nearby the University of Arizona. His photographs captured one of the hotel guests who repeatedly tried to reenter the burning building to retrieve his suitcase. This photograph proved to be newsworthy when the guest turned out to be the notorious bank robber John Dillinger, and the suitcase contained the proceeds from a bank robbery in which he had shot a police officer. Unfortunately, after the film was handed over to the Tucson Citizen, it was lost forever, and the photographs were never printed. After graduating from college, Duncan began freelancing, selling his work to magazines such as The Kansas City Star, Life, and National Geographic.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Duncan joined the Marine Corps, received a commission as an officer, and became a combat photographer. After brief assignments in California and Hawaii, he was sent to the South Pacific on assignment when the United States entered World War II. As a second lieutenant, he initially served with the 23rd Marine Aircraft Group and was later assigned to photograph the operations of the South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command. He covered the Battle of Okinawa and was aboard the battleship Missouri during Japan’s surrender. Duncan’s wartime photographs were so impressive that after the war he was hired by Life at the urging of J. R. Eyerman, Life’s chief photographer. During his time at Life, Duncan covered many events, including the end of British rule in India and conflicts in Turkey, Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

In addition to his combat photographs, Duncan is also known for his