Series VI. Photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt Files, 1946-1995, inclusive

Alfred Eisenstaedt was born in Dirschau, West Prussia (present day Tczew, Poland) in 1898 and became interested in photography in his early teens. His interest in photography was interrupted for a time when he was drafted into the German army as an artilleryman. He was injured during his service and sent home for rehabilitation.

After the war, Eisenstaedt moved to Berlin to work as a salesman and used his free time to study and experiment with photography. In 1927, his photograph of a girl playing tennis was bought by Der Welt Spiegel, an illustrated weekly, and published as a back-of-the-book feature.

Eisenstaedt kept photography became a full-time photographer in 1929. His first position was as a special photo reporter for Pacific and Atlantic Photos. In 1931, Pacific and Atlantic Photos was taken over by the Associated Press, and Eisenstaedt remained emploted with the Associated Press.

In 1935, Eisenstaedt moved to the United States and took a position with Life by 1936. Eisenstaedt was one of four photographers to work in the original photography department and was a staff photographer for publication of the first issue. After joining Life, Eisenstaedt became known for his photographs of political leaders and movie stars. In addition to these subjects, Eisenstaedt also photographed America rebuilding after the depression, Japan during the war and post-war era, and the people and rulers of nations throughout the continent of Africa. His best known photograph may be of the Time Square kiss on V-Day. Eisenstaedt received Life masthead photographer designation in 1972.

Along with having his photographs featured in Life, Eisenstaedt has also published a number of books including Witness to Our Time, The Eye of Eisenstaedt, Martha's Vineyard, Witness to Nature, Wimbledon: A Celebration, People, Eisenstaedt's Guide to Photography, Eisenstaedt's Album, and Eisenstaedt: Germany.

Before his death in 1995, Eisenstaedt had completed twenty-five thousand assignments for Life and had received numerous awards for his work. Along with his awards, Eisenstaedt was voted as one of the world's greatest photographers in a 1968 poll conducted by Popular Photography and was presented with the #1,000,001 Leica Camera by E. Leitz Inc. in 1961.