Marjory Collins (1912–1985) was an American photojournalist. She is remembered for her coverage of the

home front Home front is an English language term with analogues in other languages. It is commonly used to describe the full participation of the British public in World War I who suffered Zeppelin#During World War I, Zeppelin raids and endured Rationin ...

during

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 opposin ...

Personal life

Marjory Collins was born March 15, 1912, to Elizabeth Everts Paine and writer Frederick Lewis Collins in New York City, and grew up in nearby Scarsdale, Westchester County. She died in 1985 at the age of 73.

Education

She studied at Sweet Briar College and the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's List of universities in Germany, sixth-oldest u ...

. In 1935, Collins moved to Greenwich Village, and over the next five years she studied photography informally with

Ralph Steiner Ralph Steiner (February 8, 1899 – July 13, 1986) was an American photographer, pioneer documentarian and a key figure among avant-garde filmmakers in the 1930s. Photographer Born in Cleveland, Steiner studied chemistry at Dartmouth, but in ...

and attended

Photo League The Photo League was a cooperative of photographers in New York who banded together around a range of common social and creative causes. Founded in 1936, the League included some of the most noted American photographers of the mid-20th century amon ...

events. In the 1980s she moved to San Francisco where she obtained an M.A. in American Studies at Antioch College West.

Career

Her work as a documentary photographer was taken up by major agencies. As a result of a contribution for '' U.S. Camera and Travel'' about

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; Unami: ') is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 60,417. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 58,690 i ...

, she was invited to work for the Foreign Service of the

United States Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...

. She completed some 50 assignments there with stories about the American way of life and support for the war effort. In line with new emphasis on multiculturalism, she contributed to photographic coverage of

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

s as well as citizens of Czech, German, Italian and Jewish origin.Beverly W. Brannan, "Marjory Collins (1912-1985): Biographical Essay"
The Library of Congress. Retrieved 18 March 2013. In 1944 Collins worked freelance for a construction company in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

before travelling to Africa and Europe on government and commercial assignments. Thereafter she worked mainly as an editor and a writer covering

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

, the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, 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 Vie ...

and women's movements. In the 1960s she edited ''

American Journal of Public Health The ''American Journal of Public Health'' is a monthly peer-reviewed public health journal published by the American Public Health Association that covers health policy and public health. The journal was established in 1911 and its stated missio ...

''. Collins was very active politically; a feminist, she founded the journal ''Prime Time'' (1971–76) "for the liberation of women in the prime of life." In 1977 Collins became an associate of the

Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press (WIFP) is an American nonprofit publishing organization that was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1972. The organization works to increase media democracy and strengthen independent media. Mo Basic infor ...

. Her work is included in the collection of the

Museum of Fine Arts Houston The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. With the recent completion of an eight-year campus redevelopment project, including the opening of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Build ...

Gallery

File:N.Y. Children's Colony 04108v.jpg, New York, N.Y. Children's Colony, German refugee child, reading a

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

comic book File:200 high school students chosen for their intellectual alertness visited Washington for a week8d23128v.jpg, 200 high school students chosen for their intellectual alertness visited

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

for a week File:Children waiting in line to buy defense stamps at public school 8d24230v.jpg, Children waiting in line to buy defense stamps at

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

from mothers who volunteer to guard doorways and perform other duties in schools File:Emma Dougherty who does a man's work for a man's pay 8d10716v.jpg, Emma Dougherty who does a man's work for a man's pay, cleaning out her end-grinding machine

References

External links

Examples of Marjory Collins' work from The Library of Congress

Papers of Marjory CollinsSchlesinger Library
Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Marjory 1912 births 1985 deaths American photojournalists Antioch College alumni 20th-century American women writers Journalists from New York City American women non-fiction writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women photographers 20th-century American photographers People of the United States Office of War Information Women photojournalists