| Names: | | | Dates: | 1898, 6 December - 1995, 23 August | | Born: | Germany, West Prussia, Dirschau [Now Poland] | | Gender: | Male |
German-born and naturalized American photographer best known for his celebrity portraits.Preparing biographies
Biography provided by Focal Press
German-born, an early photojournalist who in 1929 began working for the Associated Press in Berlin using a Leica and natural light. Emigrated to the United States in 1935 where the next year he became one of the original four staff photographers for LIFE. Eisenstaedt’s belief that his job was "to find and catch the storytelling moment," made him a consummate LIFE photographer; contributing more than 2000 photo-essays and 90 cover images in real-time, assignment-driven situations.
(Author: Robert Hirsch - Independent scholar and writer)
Michael Peres (Editor-in-Chief), 2007, Focal Encyclopedia of Photography, 4th edition, (Focal Press) [ISBN-10: 0240807405, ISBN-13: 978-0240807409]
(Used with permission)
Readings on, or by, individual photographers
Eisenstaedt, A., 1980, Witness to Our Time, (New York: Viking) [rev. ed.] [Δ]
Eisenstaedt, A., 1990, Eisenstaedt: Remembrances, (Boston: Bulfinch) [Δ]
Eisenstaedt, Alfred, 1985, Eisenstaedt on Eisenstaedt: A Self-Portrait, (New York: Abbeville Press) [Introduction by Peter Adam] [Δ]
Verria, Lawrence & Galdorisi, George, 2012, The Kissing Sailor: The Mystery Behind the Photo that Ended World War II, (Naval Institute Press) isbn-10: 1612510787 isbn-13: 978-1612510781 [Foreword by David Hartman.] [Δ]
If you feel this list is missing a significant book or article please let me know - Alan - alan@luminous-lint.com | |
Family history
If you are related to this photographer and interested in tracking down your extended family we can place a note here for you to help. It is free and you would be amazed who gets in touch.
alan@luminous-lint.com |
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 | Alfred Eisenstaedt: Ice Skating Waiter, St. Moritz |
|  | Alfred Eisenstaedt: VJ Day Times Square |
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All photographs by this photographer
| Wikipedia has a biography of this photographer. | Show on this site | Go to website | | Getty Research, Los Angeles, USA has an ULAN (Union List of Artists Names Online) entry for this photographer. This is useful for checking names and they frequently provide a brief biography. | | Go to website | Grove Art Online (www.groveart.com) has a biography of this artist.
[NOTE: This is a subscription service and you will need to pay an annual fee to access the content.] | Show on this site | Go to website |
The following books are useful starting points to obtain brief biographies but they are not substitutes for the monographs on individual photographers. |
• Auer, Michele & Michel 1985 Encyclopedie Internationale Des Photographes de 1839 a Nos Jours / Photographers Encylopaedia International 1839 to the present (Hermance, Editions Camera Obscura) 2 volumes [A classic reference work for biographical information on photographers.]
• Beaton, Cecil & Buckland, Gail 1975 The Magic Eye: The Genius of Photography from 1839 to the Present Day (Boston and Toronto: Little, Brown & Company) p.182 [Useful short biographies with personal asides and one or more example images.]
• Capa, Cornell (ed.) 1984 The International Center of Photography: Encyclopedia of Photography (New York, Crown Publishers, Inc. - A Pound Press Book) p.166
• Evans, Martin Marix (Executive ed.) 1995 Contemporary Photographers [Third Edition] (St. James Press - An International Thomson Publishing Company) [Expensive reference work but highly informative.]
• International Center of Photography 1999 Reflections in a Glass Eye: Works from the International Center of Photography Collection (New York: A Bulfinch Press Book) p.214 [Includes a well written short biography on Alfred Eisenstaedt with example plate(s) earlier in book.]
• Lenman, Robin (ed.) 2005 The Oxford Companion to the Photograph (Oxford: Oxford University Press) [Includes a short biography on Alfred Eisenstaedt.]
• Witkin, Lee D. and Barbara London 1979 The Photograph Collector’s Guide (London: Secker and Warburg) p.130 [Long out of print but an essential reference work - the good news is that a new edition is in preparation.]
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If there is an analysis of a single photograph or a useful self portrait I will highlight it here. |
| "I don‘t like to work with assistants. I‘m already one too many; the camera alone would be enough." | | "Never boss people around. It‘s more important to click with people than to click the shutter." | | "Once the amateur‘s naive approach and humble willingness to learn fades away, the creative spirit of good photography dies with it. Every professional should remain always in his heart an amateur." | | "The most important thing… is not clicking the shutter… it is clicking with the subject." | | "When I have a camera in my hand, I know no fear." |
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