Carl Mydans

Carl Mydans (May 18, 1907 – August 16, 2004) was an American photographer whom worked for Life and the Farm Security Administration.

Related Topics:
May 18 - 1907 - August 16 - 2004 - American - Photographer - Life - Farm Security Administration

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In 1935, Mydans was recruited to work with a group of photographers in the Farm Security Administration.

Related Topics:
1935 - Farm Security Administration

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In 1936, Mydans joined Life magazine as one of its first staff photographers (along with Alfred Eisenstaedt, Margaret Bourke-White, Thomas McAvoy and Peter Stackpole), and a pioneering photojournalist.

Related Topics:
1936 - Life - Alfred Eisenstaedt - Margaret Bourke-White - Thomas McAvoy - Peter Stackpole - Photojournalist

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Mydans recorded photographic images of life and death throughout Europe and Asia during World War II. In 1941, the photographer and his wife were captured by the invading Japanese forces in the Philippines, held for nearly a year in Manila, then for another year in Shanghai, China, before they were released as part of a prisoner-of-war exchange.

Related Topics:
Europe - Asia - World War II - Prisoner-of-war

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Mydans was sent back to war in Europe for pivotal battles in Italy and France. By 1945, Mydans was back in the Philippines to cover MacArthur's landing, where he took some of his most famous pictures.

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Some of Mydans' more famous pictures include: the Japanese surrender aboard the U.S.S. Missouri in 1945; angry French citizens shaving the heads of women accused of sleeping with Germans during the occupation in 1944; a roomful of excited royal youngsters and their staid older relatives in 1954; and a 1950 portrait of Douglas MacArthur smoking a pipe.

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