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David Douglas Duncan (January 23, 1916 – June 7, 2018) was an American photojournalist, known for his dramatic combat photographs, as well as for his extensive domestic photography of
Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
and his wife
Jacqueline Jacqueline may refer to: People * Jacqueline (given name), including a list of people with the name * Jacqueline Moore (born 1964), ring name "Jacqueline", American professional wrestler Arts and entertainment * ''Jacqueline'' (1923 film), ...
.


Childhood and education

Duncan was born in
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...
, where his childhood was marked by interest in the outdoors, helping him earn the rank of
Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Sc ...
in the
Boy Scouts Boy Scouts may refer to: * Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement. * Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement. * An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are ...
at a relatively young age. A lantern-slide presentation by big-game hunter and physician
Richard Lightburn Sutton Richard Lightburn Sutton Sr. M.D. FRSE FRGS LLD (July 9, 1878 – May 18, 1952) was an American dermatology, dermatologist. He gives the eponym for Sutton's disease (also known as aphthous ulceration, or canker sores), Sutton's naevus and Sutton's ...
, at Duncan's elementary school in Kansas City inspired an early interest in photography and world travel. Duncan briefly attended the
University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...
, where he studied
archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...
. While in Tucson, he inadvertently photographed
John Dillinger John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He led the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprisoned several times an ...
trying to get into a hotel. Duncan eventually continued his education at the
University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, i ...
, where he graduated in 1938, having studied
zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...
and
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
. It was in Miami that his interest in photojournalism began in earnest. He worked as picture editor and photographer of the university paper.


Career

His career as a photojournalist began when he took photographs of a hotel fire in
Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...
, Arizona, while he was then studying archaeology at nearby University of Arizona. His photos included one of a hotel guest who made repeated attempts to go back into the burning building for his suitcase. That photo proved to be newsworthy when the guest turned out to have been notorious bank robber
John Dillinger John Herbert Dillinger (June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He led the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprisoned several times an ...
and the suitcase to have contained the proceeds of a bank robbery in which he had shot a police officer. Unfortunately, after the film was turned over to the ''Tucson Citizen'', it was lost forever, and the photos were never printed. After college, Duncan began to freelance, selling his work to journals such as ''
The Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...
'', ''
Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...
'' and '' National Geographic''. After the
attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...
, Duncan joined the
Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refl ...
, earned an officer's commission, and became a combat photographer. After brief postings in California and Hawaii, he was sent to the South Pacific on assignment when the United States entered
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. As a second lieutenant, he initially served with Marine Aircraft Group 23 and was later assigned to photograph operations of the
South Pacific Combat Air Transport Command South Pacific OPACCombat Air Transport Command (SCAT) was a joint command of US military logistics units in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II. It contributed notably to the success of U.S. forces in the battles for Guadalcanal (1942–194 ...
. Though combat photographers are often close to the action, they rarely fight. However, in a brief engagement at Bougainville Island, Duncan found himself fighting against the Japanese. Duncan also covered the Battle of Okinawa, and was on board the USS ''Missouri'' for the Japanese surrender. Duncan's wartime photographs were so impressive that after the war he was hired by ''Life'' to join its staff at the urging of J. R. Eyerman, ''Life'' chief photographer. During his time with ''Life'', Duncan covered many events, including the end of the
British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
in India and conflicts in
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
,
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...
, Africa, and the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
. Perhaps his most famous photographs were taken during the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. He compiled many of these into a book, ''This Is War!'', (1951), with the proceeds going to widows and children of marines who had been killed in the conflict. Duncan is considered the most prominent combat photographer of the Korean War. His photo and talk with
marines Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
in the
Battle of Chosin Reservoir The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, also known as the Chosin Reservoir Campaign or the Battle of Lake Changjin (), was an important battle in the Korean War. The name "Chosin" is derived from the Japanese pronunciation "''Chōshin'', instead of t ...
are notable: "I asked him, 'If I were God, what would you want for Christmas? Duncan says. "He just looked up into the sky and said, 'Give me tomorrow. Out of the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
, Duncan eventually compiled two additional books, ''I Protest!'' (1968) and ''War Without Heroes'' (1970). Here, Duncan abandoned impartiality and challenged the US government's handling of the war. Aside from his combat photographs, Duncan is also known for his photographs taken informally at the homes of
Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
and his second wife
Jacqueline Roque Jacqueline Picasso or Jacqueline Roque (24 February 1927 – 15 October 1986) was the muse and second wife of Pablo Picasso. Their marriage lasted 12 years until his death, during which time he created over 400 portraits of her, more than any of ...
, initiated in 1956 on the suggestion of fellow photographer
Robert Capa Robert Capa (born Endre Ernő Friedmann; October 22, 1913 – May 25, 1954) was a Hungarian-American war photographer and photojournalist as well as the companion and professional partner of photographer Gerda Taro. He is considered by some t ...
. He published seven books of photographs of Picasso in all. Duncan became a close friend of Picasso and was the only person allowed to photograph many of Picasso's private paintings. Duncan lived in Castellaras, France, close to
Mougins Mougins (; oc, Mogins ; la, Muginum ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes département in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 19,982. It is located on the heights of Cannes, in the a ...
, where Picasso spent the last 12 years of his life. Duncan greatly assisted Nippon Kogaku (Nikon) during its early years, and in 1965 he was presented with the 200,000th
Nikon F The Nikon F camera, introduced in April 1959, was Nikon's first SLR camera. It was one of the most advanced cameras of its day. Although many of the concepts had already been introduced elsewhere, it was revolutionary in that it was the firs ...
built in recognition for his use and popularization of their camera. In 1966 he published ''Yankee Nomad'', a visual autobiography that collected representative photographs from throughout his career. In 2003 this was revised and published under the title of ''Photo Nomad''. Duncan photographed both the 1968 Democratic and
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
national conventions, and published photographs from those conventions in a coffee-table book titled ''Self-Portrait U.S.A.'' in 1969. Duncan traveled extensively in the Middle East, having been stationed there ten years after World War II for ''Life''. He later published ''The World of Allah'' in 1982. He turned 100 in January 2016 and died in June 2018 in Grasse, France, aged 102. In 2021 Duncan was posthumously inducted into the
International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum The International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum in St. Louis, Missouri honors those who have made great contributions to the field of photography. History In 1977 the first Hall of Fame and Museum opened in Santa Barbara, California and a f ...
.


Books

* ''This Is War!'' (1951) * ''The Private World of Pablo Picasso'' (1958) * ''The Kremlin'' (1960) * ''Picasso's Picassos'' (1961) * ''Yankee Nomad'' (1966) * ''I Protest!'' (1968) * ''Self-Portrait: USA'' (1969) * ''War Without Heroes'' (1970) * ''Prismatics'' (1972) * ''David Douglas Duncan'' ortfolio(1972?) * ''Goodbye Picasso'' (1974) * ''The Silent Studio'' (1976) * ''Magic Worlds of Fantasy'' (1978) * ''The Fragile Miracle of Martin Gray'' (1979) * ''Viva Picasso'' (1980) * ''The World of Allah'' (1982) * ''New York/New York'' (1984) * ''Sunflowers for Van Gogh'' (1986) * ''Picasso and Jacqueline'' (1988) * ''A Secret Garden'' (1992) * ''Thor'' (1993) * ''Picasso Paints a Portrait'' (1996) * ''Yo-Yo'' (1999) * ''Faceless'' (2001) * ''Photo Nomad'' (2003) * '' Picasso & Lump'' (2006) * ''Grand Prix of Monaco'' (2013) * ''Yesterday'' (2016) * ''The Forest World of Ann West'' (2018)


References


External links

* *Berman, Eliza (March 17, 2015)
"A War Photographer's 99-Year Journey"
''Time''.
David Douglas Duncan Online Exhibition at the Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at AustinFinding aid for the David Douglas Duncan Papers and Photographic Collection at the Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, David Douglas 1916 births 2018 deaths American centenarians Men centenarians War photographers American photojournalists 20th-century American photographers Photography in Korea Vietnam War photographers United States Marine Corps officers Writers from Kansas City, Missouri Photographers from Missouri Military personnel from Missouri United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II American people of the Korean War American expatriates in France University of Arizona alumni University of Miami alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit