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From grown men eating ice cream – gasp! – to Noël Coward sweating in the desert and a baseball team without pants – a new exhibition celebrates images from the era-defining magazine
Fast moving photography … Sands Hotel in Las Vegas in August 1945. Photograph: Loomis DeanWed 11 Feb 2026 08.00 CET
Daydreaming Marilyn, California, 1953
There was a time when a third of the American public eagerly awaited the weekly delivery of Life magazine. Founded by Henry Luce in 1936 as a general interest publication, Life placed an emphasis on photojournalism, with more space devoted to photos than the printed word. It will for ever be known as the breakthrough for photography in culture, and a window into 20th-century American life. Looking at Life is at Staley-Wise Gallery, New York, until 21 February. All photographs courtesy of the Life Picture Collection/Staley-Wise Gallery, New YorkPhotograph: Alfred Eisenstaedt
Snorkellers, Caribe Beach, Puerto Rico, 1954
Before the internet and mobile phones made news instant, Life magazine reflected the world – big and smallPhotograph: William Helburn
Audience watch premiere of Bwana Devil wearing Polaroid spectacles to enjoy the 3D sequences, Hollywood, 1952
JR Eyerman developed several innovations in photography, including camera mechanisms to photograph an atomic blast and take pictures 3,600 feet below the ocean’s surfacePhotograph: JR Eyerman
VJ Day in Times Square, New York, 1945
Alfred Eisenstaedt’s iconic image of a sailor kissing a woman in a white uniform was taken after the news of Japan’s surrender in the second world war. The photograph was published a week later in Life magazine, along with other pictures of celebrations around the US of what came to be known as VJ Day. While many have come forward claiming to be the subjects, the exact identities of the man and woman have never been officially confirmed Photograph: Alfred Eisenstaedt
The Godfather: Francis Ford Coppola, Al Pacino and Diane Keaton, New York, 1971
The great photographers of the day were recruited to record the world’s most significant events and extraordinary accomplishments in politics, science, religion, theatre, art and fashionPhotograph: Harry Benson
Louis Armstrong backstage with Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine, New York, 1950
Martha Holmes’s 1950 photograph captures a moment of camaraderie between the pioneering trumpeter, pianist and baritone singer, with Eckstine laughing alongside his former bandleader Hines and Armstrong, highlighting the rich history and connection between these giants of American musicPhotograph: Martha Holmes
Couple relaxing on the bank of the Seine near Notre Dame cathedral, Paris, 1963
The magazine was not solely devoted to news. Their feature, ‘Life goes to a … ’, reflected ordinary readers’ everyday lives – covering everything from high-school graduations to debutante partiesPhotograph: Alfred Eisenstaedt
Jimmy Stewart talking behind the counter at his father’s hardware store while his dad chats with customer upon Stewart’s return from the second world war, Indiana, PA, 1945
An example of Life’s blend of photojournalism and celebrity can be seen in Peter Stackpole’s photographs of Jimmy Stewart’s return to his Pennsylvania home town in 1945 after enlisting in the Army Air Corps. In only four years, Stewart became a decorated colonel, flying missions in Nazi-occupied EuropePhotograph: Peter Stackpole
Pablo Picasso creating light drawing of a vase of flowers, Vallauris, France, 1949
Photographer Gjon Mili collaborated with Picasso to create ‘light paintings’: experiments made in a dark room with a flashlight. While initially sceptical, Picasso later allowed Mili five additional photo sessions. Forty of the resulting photographs were exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in 1950Photograph: Gjon Mili
Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Baltimore, Maryland, 1935
Margaret Bourke-White was known for landmark images of industrial life in America and earned the nickname among her colleagues at Life: ‘Maggie the Indestructible’. Photograph: Margaret Bourke-White
Crewmen unloading huge B-52 bomber engine from the belly of a C-124 cargo plane upon arrival at Strategic Air Command’s advance base, 1951
In addition to her work documenting American industry, Bourke-White also became America’s first accredited female photographer in the second world war and the first authorised to accompany Air Corps crews on dangerous bombing missionsPhotograph: Margaret Bourke-White
Sands Hotel, Las Vegas, 1952
Before joining Life magazine, Loomis Dean worked as a photographer for the US army and Barnum & Bailey Circus. He was quick on his feet and unfazed by difficult subjects Photograph: Loomis Dean
Noël Coward, Las Vegas, 1955
Dean convinced playwright and composer Coward to pose in the stifling hot Nevada desert by renting a limousine filled with liquor, tonic and ice cubes. Coward allowed his dresser to help him into a tuxedo for the photograph, but then removed it and wore only his underwear for the ride back to Las VegasPhotograph: Loomis Dean
Halston and Liza Minnelli, New York, 1978
In 1973, fashion designer Halston sold his line to Norton Simon Inc but retained control as the creative director. Flush with financial resources and desiring more space, he relocated his headquarters in 1978 to a 12,000 sq ft space on the 21st floor of Olympic Tower at 641 5th Avenue. Halston complemented the 18-foot ceilings and spectacular views of New York with mirrored doors and walls (weighing more than a ton each), dark red carpet, and what was rumoured to be an annual budget of more than $100,000 (£73,000) for orchidsPhotograph: Harry Benson
Little League spokesman voices players’ demand for pants, Manchester, NH, 1954
Members of a Little League baseball team try on new uniforms in their kindergarten classroom, anxiously waiting for missing parts of their outfitsPhotograph: Yale Joel
Universal City Studios, 1963
Movie propman carrying two large rubber rocks on the lot at Universal City StudiosPhotograph: John Dominis
Men enjoying ice cream, Iowa State Fair, 1952
The importance of home and a sense of belonging was highlighted in Life’s 1952 photo essay by Leonard McCombe, published on the occasion of McCombe’s official US citizenship after seven years in the country. McCombe spent a lonely first summer in New York at the age of 23, documenting the idiosyncrasies and frustrations of his new home. ‘I began to notice the difference in my own countrymen. I’d never even seen men eating ice cream – that was only a children’s treat in England’ Photograph: Leonard McCombe
Kim Novak en route to New York City, 1956
McCombe added: ‘Now, seven years after I set foot on American soil, I have been buffeted and shaped until I fit. I feel I am a citizen of the place where I belong’ Photograph: Leonard McCombeExplore more on these topics
