my imagination and ability to fulfill it—sometimes
ending with fresh images of very old and tired
models’’ (Foreword, 1). One of his many images
of ‘‘prismatic’’ Paris isThe Lido, 1962/1967.
As the Vietnam War unfolded in the 1960s, the
legendary war photographer returned to the battle-
field forLifeand ABC News. Duncan’s coverage
produced harrowing images of what he quickly
came to see as a tragedy, notably the siege of Khe
Sanh (The Snipers of Khe Sanh, 1968). His ‘‘war
trilogy’’ that started withThis is War: A Photo-Nar-
rativewas soon complete with two new books,I
Protest!(1968) andWar without Heroes(1970), ques-
tioning the role of the American government in Viet-
nam. InIProtest!,hewrote:
I am no kook, hippie, or dove. I am just a veteran
combat photographer and foreign correspondent who
cares intensely about my country and the role we are
playing—and assigning ourselves—in the world of
today. And I want to shout a loud protest at what has
happened at Khe Sanh and in all of Vietnam.
Duncan’s commitment to accurately recording
the story coupled with his human insight and fine
composition skills have created a captivating and
rich photojournalisticoeuvre with many creative
and original images to complement the drama of
his renowned war photographs. Duncan’s 2003
photo-autobiography, Photo Nomad, presents a
thorough picture of the evolution of his critical
eye. Today, the Harry Ransom Humanities Re-
search Center at the University of Texas at Austin
now preserves Duncan’s legacy as one of the finest
photojournalists of his time.
KristenGreshSeealso:History of Photography: Postwar Era; Life
Magazine; Museum of Modern Art; National Geo-
graphic; War Photography
Biography
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, 23 January 1916. Studied
archaeology at University of Arizona, 1935; studied
marine zoology and deep-sea diving at University of
Miami, 1935–1938, B.A., 1938; self-taught in photogra-
phy. Combat photographer in United States Marine
Corps, South Pacific, 1943–1946; Lieutenant Colonel;
Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air
Medal, and Purple Heart. Official cameraman, Michael
Lerner Chile/Peru expedition, American Museum of
Natural History, New York, 1940–1941; photographer
and Chile/Peru coordinator, Office of Inter-American
Affairs, Washington, D.C., 1941–1942; staff photogra-
pher,Lifemagazine, assigned to Korea, Iran, Palestine,
Saudi Arabia, India, Europe, and Far East, 1946–1956;
freelance photographer and foreign press correspondent
since 1956; published 24 books since 1951. Received
Gold Medal,U.S. Camera, 1950; Overseas Press Club
Award, 1951; Robert Capa Gold Medal, 1968; Photo-
grapher of the Year Award, American Society of Maga-
zine Photographers, 1968; Honorary Khan of the
Qashqui Tribe, Iran. Lives in Castellaras, France.Individual Exhibitions
1971 Retrospective; William Rockhill Nelson Gallery, Kan-
sas City, Missouri
1972 Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
1981 250 Photographs of Picasso; Sidney Janis Gallery,
New York
1996 Alone with Picasso; Jan Krugier Gallery, New York
1999 Photography of David Douglas Duncan; Lyndon B.
Johnson Library, University of Texas at Austin, Austin,
Texas
2001 Picasso’s Studio: David Douglas Duncan’s Photo-
graphs; Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio
2001 Picasso: The Artist’s Studio; Wadsworth Athenaeum,
Hartford, ConnecticutGroup Exhibitions
1951 Memorable Life Photographs; Museum of Modern
Art, New York
1952 Korea; Museum of Modern Art, New York
1955 The Family of Man; Museum of Modern Art, New
York
1964 The Painter and the Photograph: From Delacroix to
Warhol; University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
1967 Photographs in the Twentieth Century; National Gal-
lery of Canada, Ottawa and traveling
1977 Documenta 6; Kassel, West Germany
1980 Photography of the 50s; International Center of Photo-
graphy, New York and traveling
1983 Il Reportage Fotografico nelle Guerre Contemporanee;
Palazzo Fortuny, Venice, ItalyDUNCAN, DAVID DOUGLAS
David Douglas Duncan, Marine Observation Plane Over
Okinawa.
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