Artist: Alfred Eisenstaedt (1898–1995) American/German Title: VJ Day Kiss in Times Square, NY City Medium: Gelatin Silver Print Image Size: 9” W x 12.5” H Paper Size: 16” W x 20” H Limited Edition: 10/50 Signature: Signed and numbered 10/50 in black ink by the photographer, lower right below Date: 1945 Printed: 1979 Place: New York City, New York, United States Description: On August 14, 1945, moments after Japan’s surrender were announced to end World War II, Life magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt photographed a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square in New York City. Two weeks later, Life published it with other photographs of similar celebrations that day. Eisenstaedt had noticed the sailor kissing every woman he encountered, but waited until the sailor grabbed the nurse because her white uniform against his dark suit gave the picture the visual as well as emotional impact that he sought. The scene is periodically reenacted in Times Square with hundreds of participants, and dozens of sailors and nurses have identified themselves as Eisenstaedt’s subjects, some with more plausibility than others. In 2013, the book The Kissing Sailor claimed to have irrefutably determined the identities of the actual pair. Artist Biography: Alfred Eisenstaedt was a German-born photographer, originally from West Prussia (Poland). He studied at Berlin University from 1913 until 1916 and served in the army between 1916 and 1918. After World War I, Eisenstaedt made a living by working as a belt and button salesman in Berlin. A self-taught photographer, he was given his first camera at the age of 14. In 1927, he worked as a photographer for the Berliner Tageblatt and sold his first images to Der Weltspiegel, a publication for which he also worked on a freelance basis. In 1928, Eisenstaedt photographed Marlene Dietrich in Berlin while she was filming Der Blaue Engel. In 1935, Eisenstaedt moved to the United States, where he worked as a photojournalist for American publications, including Harper’s Bazaar, Vogue, and LIFE. Throughout his 60-year career, Eisenstaedt photographed celebrities, politicians, historical figures, and events, and regularly employed a candid, or unposed, technique. One of his most iconic and reproduced works is VJ Day, The Kiss (1945), which captured the image of a sailor embracing a nurse in a white dress as they celebrated the end of World War II, in New York’s Times Square. In addition to gracing the covers of 92 issues of LIFE magazine, Eisenstaedt’s photographs have been exhibited at many prestigious institutions, including The Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Philadelphia College of Art, and the International Center of Photography in New York. © 2023 Art Leaders Gallery | All Rights Reserved

Artwork is in mint condition. Item sold as is.

20 x 16 in