Page 47 – LIFE

70 Photos In Honor of Queen Elizabeth’s 70 Years On The Throne

June 2, 2022June 1, 2022 by Jill Golden

This year marks Elizabeth II’s seventieth year as Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom, an anniversary commemorated with a Platinum Jubilee.

On February 6th, 2022, Queen Elizabeth officially became the longest reigning British monarch. She assumed the role of Queen at age 25 after the passing of her father, King George VI.

This milestone puts the Queen in a rare position, as only three other monarchs in modern history have reigned for seventy years or more: Louis XIV of France, Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, and Johann II of Lichtenstein. At 95 years of age, Queen Elizabeth is also the longest-lived British monarch. She has been seen by many around the world as a safeguard of stability for the British people, and while her reign—especially recently—has not gone without scandal, she has continued to endure, persevere, and celebrate her home country. As the longest-serving female monarch, she has seen thirteen US Presidents come and go, as well as fourteen British Prime Ministers.

Numerous LIFE photographers have captured images of the Queen both domestically and abroad—from her wedding to her tour of North America—and below you will find 70 photos from our archives of Her Majesty to honor her 70 years of service. As LIFE wrote in its Februay 18, 1952 issue, when Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne:

…the people saw a good omen in Elizabeth’s name; as under the first Elizabeth, four centuries ago, England might rise and prosper again. The queen was on her throne and there was scarcely a [person] in the wide free world who would not say, God save her.

Princess Elizabeth (R) and Princess Margaret (L).

England’s Princess Elizabeth (R) holding Corgi as sister Princess Margaret Rose offers a biscuit.

Princess Elizabeth (C) reviewing the Grenadier guards on her birthday.

Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth, a first-time spectator of American football, sitting in the stands while watching the Univ. of Maryland vs. Univ. of North Carolina football game at College Park’s Byrd Stadium during her official visit to the US.

Heading To The Logan Stone

Princess Elizabeth (R) being led to the Logan Stone to be presented to the Arch Druid in United Kingdom in August 1946

Queen Elizabeth II with Kwame Nkrumah during her visit to Ghana, November 1961.

Queen Elizabeth II’s tour of India.

Queen Elizabeth II’s tour of India.

Queen’s Visit To Ethiopia

A picture of Queen Elizabeth II wearing ornaments of Ethiopian highest order, addressing Emperor Haile Selassie in the Great Throne Hall of the Menelik Palace in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in February of 1965.

Queen’s Visit To Ethiopia

Woman giving a bouquet of flowers to Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Ethiopian and Sudan in February of 1965.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, at the opening of the Canadian Parliament.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, during their visit to Williamsburg.

Queen Elizabeth II, riding in coach.

Queen Elizabeth II in front of microphones while awaiting to reply to to the welcoming speech at University College of West Indies.

A picture of Queen Elizabeth II and an unidentified man during her visit to Sudan in February of 1965.

A picture of Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Sudan in February of 1965.

A picture of Queen Elizabeth II with President Dr. Tigani El Mahi and others in a Textile mill during her visit to Sudan in February of 1965.

A picture of Queen Elizabeth II with President Dr. Tigani El Mahi and others in a Textile mill during her visit to Sudan in February of 1965.

Queen Elizabeth II & Duke of Edinburgh in Portugal, 1957.

Queen Elizabeth II & Duke of Edinburgh in Portugal, 1957.

Queen Elizabeth And Prince Philip

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip attending the opening of Canadian Parliament, Ontario, Canada, October 1957.

Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II with her guards, visiting Canada, 1964.

Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II

Portrait of Elizabeth II, Queen of England by Pietro Annigoni.

Elizabeth II, Queen of England.

Elizabeth II, Queen of England.

Queen Elizabeth II in uniform

Elizabeth II, Queen of England in Army uniform.

Elizabeth II, Queen of England.

Elizabeth II, Queen of England.

Queen Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II, Queen of England.

Queen Elizabeth II in uniform

Elizabeth II, Queen of England in Army uniform.

Elizabeth II, Queen of England

Elizabeth II, Queen of England.

Elizabeth II, Queen of England.

Elizabeth II, Queen of England.

Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II, Queen of England.

Queen Elizabeth II receiving flowers In Germany.

Queen Elizabeth II receiving flowers In Germany.

Queen Elizabeth II’s royal tour to Ghana.

Queen Elizabeth II’s royal tour to Ghana.

Queen Elizabeth II during her 1966 tour of the Caribbean.

Queen Elizabeth II during her 1966 tour of the Caribbean.

Queen Elizabeth II’s tour of India.

Queen Elizabeth II’s tour of India.

Queen Elizabeth II

Elizabeth II smiling during her tour in India, 1961.

Royal Tour – Queen Elizabeth II and Harry Truman at press conference

Royal Tour – Queen Elizabeth II and Harry Truman at press conference

Queen Elizabeth II and Harry Truman in motorcade.

Queen Elizabeth II and Harry Truman in motorcade.

Royal Tour – Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visit the United States.

Royal Tour – Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visit the United States.

Queen Elizabeth’s Tour

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip, Nassau, The Bahamas, 1966.

Queen Elizabeth’s Tour

Queen Elizabeth during tour in Nassau, Bahamas, 1966 .

Queen Elizabeth’s Tour

Queen Elizabeth speaking on stage during her tour in Nassau, Bahamas, 1966.

British Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Ethiopia.

A close-up of Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Ethiopia in February of 1965.

Queen Elizabeth II at a formal dinner during her visit to Ethiopia.

Queen Elizabeth II at a formal dinner during her visit to Ethiopia.

Queen Elizabeth II and Duke of Edinburgh visit Bermuda.

Queen Elizabeth II and Duke of Edinburgh visit Bermuda.

Queen Elizabeth II and Duke of Edinburgh visit Bermuda

Queen Elizabeth II and Duke of Edinburgh visit Bermuda

Queen’s Visit To Norway

Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to Norway, 1955.

Queen Elizabeth In Nigeria

Queen Elizabeth sitting with men in uniforms during tour in Nigeria, 1956.

King And Queen

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Jamaica, 1953.

Queen Elizabeth II’s tour in Nigeria.

Queen Elizabeth II’s tour in Nigeria.

King and Queen of England

Officer saluting as Queen Elizabeth II steps out of the plane during her arrival in Jamaica, 1953.

Queen’s visit to Ethiopia

Queen Elizabeth II sitting at a table during her visit to Sudan in February of 1965.

Queen’s visit to Ethiopia

Close-up of Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Sudan in February of 1965.

Queen’s visit to Ethiopia

Queen Elizabeth II having a conversation at race track in Khartoum City during her visit to Sudan in February of 1965.

Photograph of Queen Elizabeth II on her tour of India.

Photograph of Queen Elizabeth II on her tour of India.

Queen Elizabeth II’s tour of India and Nepal.

Queen Elizabeth II’s tour of India and Nepal.

Queen Elizabeth In Caribbean

Queen Elizabeth II reading from book during Caribbean tour, circa 1965.

Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II sitting next to Prince Philip while holding an umbrella during a royal tour in the Caribbean, 1965.

Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II walking along with officials during a royal tour in the Caribbean, 1965.

Queen Elizabeth II, riding a horse, during trooping the colors ceremony in 1949.

Princess Elizabeth talking with U.S. President Harry S. Truman, Washington DC, November 1951.

Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II walking with Richard Nixon during her North American tour in Washington, District of Columbia, 1957.

Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to North America.

Princess Margaret (left), the future Queen Elizabeth II (third from left) and the Queen Mother (third from right) with the Grenadier guards on the occasion of Princess Elizabeth’s birthday, 1942.

David E. Scherman The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

LIFE Cover: October 28, 1957

LIFE cover featuring Queen Elizabeth II opening Canada’s parliament, published October 28, 1957.

Queen Elizabeth II shook hands with a well-wisher while standing next to the General and Governor of Bermuda, Sir Alexander Hood, 1961.

Lisa Larsen The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

LIFE Cover: March 4, 1957

LIFE cover featuring Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, published March 4, 1957.

England’s Queen Elizabeth II and Duke of Edinburgh wait with their hosts, Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia and his son, the Crown Prince, before they enter the New Cathedral of St. Mary of Zion. Axum, Ethiopia, 1965.

John Loengard

HM Queen Elizabeth II, 1951

© Yousuf Karsh

Queen Elizabeth at College Park’s Byrd Stadium during her 1957 North American tour.

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Original caption: ” Decorated girl scout, Jennifer Ankers, gets notice. `You have a lot of medals,’ said Philip. `Six,’ she replied. In back is Governor Thomas Stanley.”

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Original caption: “With `Parson,’ Queen visits James Fort Church replica.”

Ed Clark The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The royal family gathered on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during a celebration of the centenary of the Royal Air Force on July 10, 2018; pictured are (left to right) are Prince Edward and wife Sophie, Prince Charles and wife Camilla, Queen Elizabeth II, Meghan Markle with husband Prince Harry, and Prince William and Kate.

TOLGA AKMEN/AFP via Shutterstock

Queen Elizabeth II (right) and Prince Philip on a tour of Trinidad and Tobago, 1966.

Michael Rougier The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

The Paul McCartney of Get Back

June 8, 2022May 26, 2022 by Bill Syken

The following is from LIFE’s new special tribute issue, Paul McCartney: Yesterday and Today, available at newsstands and online:

Watching Peter Jackson’s 2021 documentary, Get Back, feels a bit like having a window seat to the creation of the earth. The nearly eight-hour film deploys previously unseen footage, more than a half-century old, to chronicle three weeks of the Beatles writing and recording songs, and preparing for what would be the band’s final live performance, an unannounced 42-minute concert on the roof of Apple Studios. Even stretches of the mundane or tedious—not another take of Don’t Let Me Down—are shot through by lightning. A producer and one of the Beatles may be talking about a scheduling detail when you realize that in the background Paul McCartney, on the piano, is noodling out the melody and words to Let It Be in real time. “Tomorrow, John,” you half expect McCartney to suggest, “let’s make the mountains and the seas.” If the Creation metaphor seems overwrought, go listen to Let It Be.

Get Back shapes and illuminates known notions of the band in their final stage, capturing each Beatle’s distinct temperament and genius. For McCartney in particular the temperament and genius are tied tightly to his commitment. Even among the other worker Beatles, his persistence stands out. Ready to roll, every day. The first to move out of the clowning through old blues tunes that might flavor the start of a morning’s jam, and into the project at hand. McCartney thinks it all through. He is not satisfied. He pushes the band. “Can you just stop playing for a minute, John?” he says. “I’m trying to talk to you about this arrangement.”

McCartney suggests drum parts to Ringo Starr, guitar parts to George Harrison. ”You always get annoyed,” McCartney says to Harrison “I’m trying to help, you know.” This is in the first part of the film before Harrison quits the band. Later, with Harrison back, the Beatles are at the end of a harmonious, brilliant, long day of song-making, when Yoko Ono, appendant to John Lennon throughout, asks McCartney of the next day’s planned rehearsal: “Will it be all day then?” McCartney answers: “Who knows, Yoko?” Whatever it takes to get the songs right, is what he means, however long it takes to get them down.

Ono’s seamless intimacy with Lennon is ever present in Get Back. She spends much of her time sitting beside him within the band’s circle. She knits, sorts mail, casts silent looks and slips Lennon a half-stick of chewing gum. McCartney is also visited in the studio by his love, Linda Eastman, and her six-year-old daughter Heather. (Seven weeks later they’ll be Linda and Heather McCartney.) Linda snaps some photos, and Heather crawls about pretending to be a tiger, but they stay, with few exceptions, outside the workspace.

You might say that McCartney is all business, so long as it is understood that a big part of that business—then, as now, as always—is joy. He bounces happily, if purposefully, through the melodies. At one point he and Lennon goof through a rendition of Two of Us pretending to be ventriloquists. When they play the finished song straight, strumming gently opposite one another, a new fragment of the firmament is in place. “It’s lovely,” Harrison says.

About 34 minutes into the rooftop concert, with onlookers peering from neighboring buildings, two bobbies step out onto the roof behind the band, concerned about the noise and the gathering of people stalling traffic on the street below. The Beatles are in the middle of a cracking version of Don’t Let Me Down. When Paul catches sight of the officers he gives the most impish “Whoo!” and swivels his hips a little extra. Then he turns back to the microphone—he in a sportcoat beside John in a fur—and, beaming completely, he keeps right on singing.

Here is a sampling of the images from LIFE’s special tribute issue, Paul McCartney: Yesterday and Today:

Chris Floyd/Camera Press/Redux

The Beatles, featuring (left to right) RIngo Starr, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, and John Lennon, 1964.

John Dominis/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Paul McCartney, with his father and his brother Mike, circa 1960.

Keystone/Hulton/Getty

The Beatles in 1960, in the group’s earliest days.

Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone/Getty

This 1962 show in Hamburg featured, in addition to Paul, John and George, guest pianist Roy Young and, on drums, Pete Best.

Bert Kaempfert Music/K & K Ulf Kruger OHG/Redferns/Getty

The Beatles, 1962.

kpa/United Archives/Hulton/Getty

The Beatles—Ringo, George, Paul and John, from left to right—went airborne for a photo shoot, 1963.

Fiona Adams/Redferns/Getty

Paul McCartney and his future wife Linda in London, 1967.

Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone/Getty

Paul McCartney performed with Wings, 1976.

Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix/Getty

A Pioneering NHL Photographer Chooses Her Favorite LIFE Hockey Photos

May 16, 2022 by Bill Syken

In 2022 Amanda J. Cain became the first Black woman ever to work as a team photographer in the NHL when she took a job with the San Jose Sharks. Before joining the Sharks she had worked at Purdue University and Eastern Kentucky University, and her shooting background is diverse, with a portfolio that includes not just sports but music, portraiture and more. You can read more about her journey and her love of photography in this interview.

Photographer Amanda Cain

Calder Photography

LIFE asked Ms. Cain to look through LIFE’s photo archives and select a handful of her favorite hockey photos, all of which come from the old days when the NHL only had six teams and players rarely wore helmets. “Before this I hadn’t really looked back at older photos from the 1960’s and earlier, and as I was looking through the Life.com archive I discovered some really neat images which caught my eye,” she said.

Here are Amanda’s favorite LIFE hockey photos, along with her commentary explaining the appeal of each image.

Jacques Plante in 1959, when the goalie for the Montreal Canadiens became the first player to wear a mask regularly; he turned to the mask to protect his injured nose.

George Silk/LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

“This photo tells the story of Jacques Plante, the first goalie to regularly wear a mask—which he began doing in 1959 to protect his injured nose. In this picture I like the way his masks are situated in the background. Obviously they weren’t as well crafted as the masks of today, but that, along with the uniqueness of Jacques Plante’s posture and smile after getting stitches in his nose makes the balance of this photo work well.”

Bobby Hull (left) of the Detroit Red Wings, 1968.

Arthur Rickerby/LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

“In this photo, featuring the legendary Bobby Hull on the left, the composition is so well balanced. The lines of the referee’s shirt and the faintness of the crowd in the background help draw your eye into the picture. This moment in the fight isn’t showy, but it is real, and the non-emotion from the players suggests these are two practiced pugilists about to have at it. Really great art in my opinion.”

Game action between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Boston Bruins, 1963.

Arthur Rickerby/LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

“The action without the puck. The action without it being the height of the action. I call pictures like this one from a 1963 Bruins-Blackhawks game creative images. Exactly what’s happening is a little bit of a mystery, which I like. Sometimes pictures are more fun when you have to use your imagination and piece the moment together on your own.”

These young hockey players in New York City used roller skates in their version of the game but still looked at ice skates with admiration, 1951.

Yale Joel/LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

“The character of this photo is truly amazing. The reflections in the glass, the fact that you can see the figure skate in the window—it makes for a great scene. There is so much creative chaos. I would love to know what these young hockey players are saying to each other.”

The USA team played against the Swiss during the Winter Olympics in Norway in February 1948.

Mark Kauffman/LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

“I’m a sucker for photos with a great backdrop, and this picture of the U.S. taking on the Swiss at the 1948 Winter Olympics in Saint Moritz is a perfect example. I always love seeing hockey being played outdoors in the elements to begin with; having the Swiss Alps in the background makes this picture immensely enjoyable.”

Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion, master of the slap shot, 1955.

Yale Joel/LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

“What a great shot, especially with the puck placement. I can’t imagine shooting hockey with the camera technology of the 1950’s, and getting the puck in the frame is stellar. I also love the expression on the face of the legendary Bernie ‘Boom Boom’ Geoffrion.”

Hockey great Jean Beliveau, the center for the Montreal Canadiens, 1953.

Yale Joel/LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

“The enjoyable relaxing moments of athletes are so surreal. I mean how many times do we actually get to capture these quiet moments. The image’s composition invites me into the player reading a book and having a cigar. While it probably wasn’t rare back in the day, this photo seems like a special moment.”

For more of Amanda Cain’s work, see her website.

The Aftermath of War: A Powerful New Exhibition Comes to New York

May 16, 2022 by Bill Syken

The pictures that legendary LIFE photographer Leonard McCombe made at the beginning of his career in the 1940s have a resonance that hits particularly hard in 2022.

McCombe grew up in the Isle of Man and by the time he was 18, he was working as a war correspondent in Europe, shooting photos of the violence that was tearing up the continent during World War II.

Now Europe is once again at war and citizens are facing the same dire circumstances due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The photos in a new exhibition of McCombe’s work at the German Consulate General in New York tell the story of the deprivation and destruction of war.

McCombe, who was inspired to take up photography as a youth when he saw a copy of LIFE, would go on to become a staff photographer at the magazine. His many memorable stories for LIFE included a report from inside the Navajo nation and an essay on the vanishing American cowboy.

McCombe, who turned to farming after the original LIFE stopped publishing in 1972, died in 2015, at age 92. He left behind folders and envelopes full of negatives from his decades in photography. His son Clark and a friend, Hannah B. Ortiz, had begun going through those old photos when McCombe was alive, prodding the reticent photographer to talk about the history behind his pictures. Clark and Ortiz’s continued work provided the source material for the new exhibition at the German Consulate.

They originally began planning the show with the idea that it would run in 2020, on the 75^th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. The COVID-19 pandemic pushed the show back to 2022, with the war in Ukraine displacing citizens by the millions.

“This exhibition is less a commentary on history than a reminder of its fragility,” said Clark and Ortiz in a statement in the exhibition catalog. “Instead of a recollection of the past, it is a mirror to the present.”

Clark today works the family farm that his father started in Long Island, New York. After McCombe had traded in cameras and far-flung assignments for apples and peaches and berries, he didn’t look back. Clark said in a phone interview that although his father didn’t talk much about the specifics of what he had witnessed during World War II, he was unmistakably anti-war. Clark remembers that in the 1960s his father would say of the those advocating for the Vietnam War, “If they had seen firsthand what war was, they wouldn’t be so quick to be bombing people.”

The pictures in this exhibition capture scenes from Berlin and Nuremburg, as well as Warsaw and other parts of Poland. Clark says that when he looks at the pictures, in addition to seeing the suffering they document, he can’t help but think of his father as a young man, traversing a war-ravaged Europe and taking in all this horror.

“When I look at what he did and how he managed, I just shake my head,” he said. “I don’t know how he did it, or a lot of those guys did it.”

The exhibition runs through August 15, 2022. Here is a brief selection of McCombe’s images:

Exhausted, homeless German refugees huddled in a city municipal building seeking shelter in Berlin, 1945.

Leonard McCombe

A starving German woman and child were taken in at a hospital in Berlin after having walked 180 miles from Silesia, 1945.

Leonard McCombe/LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

German refugees, civilian and soldier alike, crowded platforms of the Berlin train station after being driven from Poland and Czechoslovakia following the defeat of Germany by Allied forces, 1945.

Leonard McCombe/LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A dying farmer raised his head to call to German Red Cross worker hesitating outside the truck, called a “”death carriage.”” October 1945.

Leonard McCombe/LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

A former German soldier who had lost his lower legs was carried by a fellow soldier after departing a train that had brought him back to Germany from a Russian POW camp, 1945.

Leonard McCombe/LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Prince Charles and Tricia Nixon: The Match That Didn’t Take

May 11, 2022 by Bill Syken

In 1970, a 21-year old Prince Charles came to the United States in the company of sister Anne, wearing not only the crown of British royalty but also the title of the most eligible bachelor in the world.

This was Charles’s first trip ever to the United States, and when he came to Washington DC, he and the president’s daughter, Tricia Nixon, ended up spending plenty of time together. The two saw the sights of Washington, attended a formal dinner and even went to a baseball game at RFK Stadium (For the curious: they saw the Senators top the Brewers 4-3).

In a 2021 interview Charles reflected on that trip to DC and the social arrangements that had been made. “That was quite amusing, I must say,” he told CNN. “That was the time when they were trying to marry me off to Tricia Nixon.”

LIFE magazine’s coverage of the visit in its July 31, 1970 issue made no mention of any prospective union between Charles and Tricia. But it did talk about how President Nixon seemed unusually excited about the royals. Columnist Hugh Sidey offered the theory that Nixon was so infatuated with them because the President lacked what Charles and Anne had in abundance. “He has hired more bands and had more ceremonies and designed more funny police uniforms and worn more white ties than any recent President in his intense but vain search for the magic which the prince and his sister carried along so casually,” Sidey wrote.

The weekend visit was capped by the formal evening event. “The young folks laughed and danced,” Sidey wrote. “Those who saw Richard Nixon say he never looked happier.”

But if Nixon entertained dreams of an old-world marriage of state, the kids had other ideas. Less than a year after Charles’ visit, Tricia married Edward F. Cox in a ceremony on the White House lawn. Cox was no royal, only a Harvard Law student, but their relationship earned Tricia Nixon two appearances on the cover of LIFE: one after it was clear the couple was serious, and another for the White House wedding. Their union was a lasting one: Tricia and Edward Cox remain married today.

Charles, meanwhile, had a good decade of bachelorhood in front of him before marrying Lady Diana Spencer on July 29, 1981. He and Diana would divorce after 15 years of marriage.

Prince Charles and Tricia Nixon, Washington D.C. 1970.

Stan Wayman/LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Prince Charles escorted Tricia Nixon, daughter of President Nixon, to a formal White House dinner, Washington DC, July 1970.

Stan Wayman/LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Prince Charles, President Nixon, Princess Anne and First Lady Pat Nixon at the White House, Washington D.C., 1970.

Stan Wayman/LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

President Nixon with Princess Anne, Washington D.C., 1970.

Stan Wayman/LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Prince Charles and Tricia Nixon, Washington DC, 1970.

Stan Wayman/LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Tricia Nixon (far left) seated next to Prince Charles, David Eisenhower, Princess Anne, and Julie Nixon Eisenhower, at a Washington Senators baseball game at RFK Stadium in Washington DC, 1970.

Stan Wayman/LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Tricia Nixon, Prince Charles, David Eisenhower, Princess Anne, and Julie Nixon Eisenhower took in a Washington Senators baseball game in 1970 during a royal visit.

Stan Wayman/LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Tricia Nixon and Prince Charles at a baseball game at RFK Stadium, July 19, 1970.

Stan Wayman/LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

LIFE Magazine Show Opens At Monroe Gallery Of Photography

May 5, 2022May 4, 2022 by Jill Golden

Like thousands of New Yorkers, Sid and Michelle Monroe left the city after the events of September 11 to find a new home. They chose the art and cultural capital of Santa Fe, New Mexico, where they opened the Monroe Gallery of Photography in April 2002. Now, twenty years later, they’re celebrating their gallery’s anniversary by revisiting the topic of their first show: the photographers of LIFE Magazine.

Opening on May 6, 2022, the exhibit celebrates what the Monroes call LIFE’s “stunning affirmation of the humanist notion that the camera’s proper function is to persuade and inform.” Photographs from essays by LIFE icons such as Margaret Bourke-White, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Carl Mydans, and Andreas Feininger will be on display. LIFE photographer Bob Gomel, now 88, will also be in attendance at the opening reception from 5-7pm on Friday, May 6.

LIFE.com recently caught up with the gallerists Sid and Michelle Monroe over email to learn more about their show and their thoughts on LIFE, and, well, life in Santa Fe.

How did you become gallerists? Why did you choose to focus on photojournalism?

We both entered the museum field after college, Michelle with the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and Sid with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Michelle was also a working artist and Sid was the director of a SoHo gallery specializing in fine art editions, where the gallery owner was exploring an exhibition with Alfred Eisenstaedt in collaboration with the LIFE Picture Collection. In 1985, we sat down with Alfred Eisenstaedt to discuss the exhibition and, then in our 20s, were were awed and engaged with his stories of an extraordinary life behind the camera.

We understood that we were in the presence of something bigger than we had ever encountered before. The work of Alfred Eisenstaedt is our collective history—we didn’t live this but this is what formed the world we were born into. In the eighties, photography was only beginning to gain a foothold in the fine art market, and most galleries were concentrating on the early “masters” of fine art photography. Eisenstaedt, and in general the field of photojournalism, had not been exhibited in a gallery setting. We believed immediately that a gallery which combined the realms of art, history, and reportage would be unique, and that set us on our course.

Albert Einstein

Alfred Eisenstaedt The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

Why a LIFE exhibition? Why now?

We had our beginning in New York, and over the course of the 1990s had the extraordinary opportunity to meet, get to know, and work with many of the legendary photographers of LIFE magazine, all in their retirement years. Through countless conversations, we learned how they saw the world and recorded it for the magazine, and more importantly, for history. Their work, and work approach, helped us gain insight into how to view their photographs, decades after they made them. Ever since, we have have worked conscientiously over the past 20 years to establish Monroe Gallery of Photography at the intersection between photojournalism and fine art, showcasing works embedded in our collective consciousness that shape our shared history. The Gallery represents several of the most significant photojournalists up to the present day, but the work of the LIFE photographers has been our foundation.

Mother and child in Hiroshima, Japan, December 1945.

Alfred Eisenstaedt; The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

What do you wish collectors knew about LIFE? The general public?

The work of the photographers of LIFE magazine came to define the medium of photojournalism, and their photographs recorded history and informed us all for most of the twentieth century. It was long one of the most popular and widely imitated of American magazines, selling millions of copies a week. From its start, LIFE emphasized photography, with gripping, superbly chosen news photographs, amplified by photo features and photo essays on an international range of topics. Its photographers were the elite of their craft and enjoyed worldwide esteem. Published weekly from 1936 to 1972, the work of the photographers of LIFE magazine came to define the medium of photojournalism.

American sprinters Tommie Smith (center) and John Carlos (right), after winning gold and bronze Olympic medals in the 200 meters, respectively, raised their fists in a Black Power salute, Mexico, 1968. Australian silver medalist Peter Norman is at left.

John Dominis/Life Pictures/Shutterstock

Do you have a favorite piece in the show?

Considering we curated the exhibit from potentially thousands of images, the exhibit itself represents our favorites—with enough left over we could easily do a “part two”!

Who are some of your favorite LIFE photographers? Are there some that may have been overlooked?

That’s a difficult question, as each LIFE photographer had their own individual and particular personality and style. We consider ourselves extraordinarily privileged to have been able to have known, and call friends, so many of these great photographers. To name only a few, Eisenstaedt was by many measures the “Dean” of the LIFE photographers and he taught us how to “see”; Carl Mydans left a deep impression on us with his humility and intense humanistic dedication; Bill Eppridge was deeply committed to documenting historic and deeply sensitive subjects; and Bob Gomel‘s versatility and ingenuity impresses us to this day.

John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul Mccartney and Ringo Starr, February 1964.

© Bob Gomel / Courtesy of Bob Gomel

And for people who plan to visit the LIFE show in Santa Fe, are there other favorite art spots in the area that you recommend?

Santa Fe is a gem of an art-destination city. There are over 200 galleries showing every possible form of art from ancient Native American art and pottery to cutting edge contemporary art. [We recommend] SITE Santa Fe, a contemporary art space; Institute of American Indian Arts; Museum Hill; Georgia O’Keeffe Museum; and Meow Wolf, an ‘immersive art installation’ where visitors enter and discover that nothing is as it seems…

Do you have advice for young photojournalists who might want to display their works in a gallery?

Foremost, understand and dedicate yourself to the profession and its specific ethical requirements. Respect its role as the fourth estate and its check on power. Do the work. The role of photojournalists has perhaps never been as vital and important as it is today.

Indian leader Mohandas Gandhi reading next to a spinning wheel at home. (Photo by Margaret Bourke-White/The LIFE Picture Collection © DotDash Meredith)

The LIFE Photographers exhibit will be on display at Monroe Gallery from May 6 through June 26, 2022. For hours and location, please consult the gallery’s website.

Jill Golden is the director of the LIFE Picture Collection, an archive of more than 10 million photographs created by—and collected by—LIFE Magazine.

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