Miami in Florida where he studied marine zoology
and deep-sea diving. After college, Duncan free-
lanced and was published in a variety of publica-
tions includingNational Geographicmagazine and
worked on several projects in Latin America.
In 1943, Duncan entered the Marine Corps and
served as a combat photographer in the South Paci-
fic. On the Solomon Islands, Duncan covered Fijian
guerrilla warfare, (Fijian Guerilla, 1944)andafter
witnessing deadly ambushes in Bougainville, he was
transferred to Okinawa where he photographed com-
bat aviation. This experience of war forged Duncan’s
close-up and direct style of photography, which so
effectively portrays the human aspects of war. Dun-
can achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and
received the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying
Cross, Air Medal, and a Purple Heart.
In 1946, Duncan was hired by legendary Life
magazine editor Wilson Hicks as a staff photogra-
pher, a major accomplishment for photojournalists
at the time. Duncan spent 10 years atLifemagazine
and saw his images published as cover stories, includ-
ing photographs of GIs that have become contem-
porary icons. Duncan’s coverage of the Korean War
in 1950 with the First Division Marines was featured
in a famousLifespread titled ‘‘This is War!’’. The
poignancy and thus power of Duncan’s images fre-
quently lies in the eyes of his subjects. TheLifestory,
for example, included striking and intimate images of
Captain Ike Fenton and Corporal Leonard Hay-
worth; the haunted yet guarded look in the men’s
eyes powerfully communicates the horror of war
(Captain Ike Fenton, Baker Company Commanding
Officer, receives report of dwindling supplies during the
battle to secure ‘‘no-name’’ ridge,1950 andCorporal
Hayworth, 1950).
Duncan’s motto for shooting war photographs
was ‘‘Be close—be fast—be Lucky, Easy, always
remember—be humane, never close-ups of the
dead, war is in the eyes’’ (Photo Nomad, 2003,
151). In 1951, Duncan publishedThis is War: A
Photo-Narrative, a book of these haunting images
of the Korean War. Years later a 22 cent U.S.
stamp was made to honor those who fought in
Korea; ‘‘Veterans Korea,’’ based on one of Dun-
can’s images. The stamp, however, crops Dun-
can’s original image,North Korea, 1950,sothat
the dead bodies on the ground below the soldiers
could not be seen. Duncan’sLifeimages were also
technologically pioneering in that they were taken
with the newly introduced Nikon lens, which he
used on a Leica camera. The positive response to
the quality of these images contributed signifi-
cantly to the popularity of the previously un-
known Nikon brand.
Duncan’s life as a photojournalist also included
trips to Saudi Arabia, where he producedRiyadh,
1947, and Turkey, capturingGeneral ‘‘Black Avni’’
Mizrak commanding Turkish cavalry, guarding win-
tertime Russian frontier, 1948. He also covered
Iran, Palestine, Bulgaria, India, and the Far East,
producing stories that include both remarkable
portraits and breathtaking landscapes. OtherLife
assignments of the late 1940s and 1950s include the
departure of King Farouk from Egypt, the end of
the British Raj in India, and Ava Gardner in Rome
filming ‘‘The Barefoot Contessa.’’
Duncan resigned fromLifemagazine in 1956
and became a freelance photographer. His travels
included trips to the Middle East and the former
Soviet Union, where despite Cold War tensions,
he was allowed to extensively document the Krem-
lin treasures.
Throughout his career, Duncan has been very
conscious of staying in control of his images and
refused to compromise his photographs for politi-
cal reasons. His 1953 ‘‘Indochina All But Lost’’
Life photoessay provoked conflict with Henry
Luce, the magazine’s founder and editor-in-chief.
Luce considered the story ‘‘defeatist and therefore
wrong’’ (Photo Nomad, 221). For Duncan, the
story was the way he saw things; in fact, he cor-
rectly foresaw the fall of Dien Bien Phu in 1954,
which led to the division of Viet Nam and Amer-
ica’s eventual involvement. Remaining faithful to
his convictions, in most of his 24 books, he was
responsible for all elements of the publications.
Duncan’s work was first exhibited in Edward Stei-
chen’sMemorable Life Photographsexhibition at the
Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1951. His
work was also featured in another of Steichen’s exhi-
bitions in 1951 titledKoreaas well as in the seminal
1955 exhibitionThe Family of Man.
The mid-1950s was also the beginning of a long
friendship between Duncan and Pablo Picasso. The
two men, both masters of their respective visual
forms, shared a deep passion for work and life.
Duncan gained unprecedented access to the great
artist and spent several years photographing
Picasso, eventually publishing seven books featur-
ing images of Picasso at work and at play. The
works are intimate and charming, frequently focus-
ing on Picasso’s intense and expressive dark eyes
(Picasso, 1957).
Undoubtedly influenced by Picasso, Duncan
began experimentation with cameras during the
1960s, using the special effects of prismatic lenses.
Duncan states in his book,Prismatics: Exploring a
New World, 1972, ‘‘I wanted to fragment then
reassemble the subjects before me, limited only byDUNCAN, DAVID DOUGLAS