David Douglas Duncan

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
David Douglas Duncan in World War II

David Douglas Duncan (born January 23, 1916 in Kansas City , Missouri , † June 7, 2018 in Grasse , France ) was an American photojournalist and war journalist . Duncan was mainly known for his dramatic, sometimes critical war photographs , as well as for his photo essays about Pablo Picasso , which he published in several illustrated books.

Live and act

David Douglas Duncan grew up in Kansas City. His childhood was shaped by his interest in nature, which earned him the Eagle Scout , the highest award of the Boy Scouts of America . Duncan briefly studied archeology at the University of Arizona at Tucson . In 1938 he graduated from the University of Miami , where he studied zoology and Spanish . In Miami he became interested in photojournalism. He worked as a picture editor and photographer for the university newspaper.

Duncan's career as a press photographer began during his student days in 1934 with a photo report about a hotel fire in Tucson, Arizona, in which he accidentally photographed the wanted bank robber and "Public Enemy No. 1" John Dillinger in the midst of the fleeing hotel guests when he tried again get to the burning hotel to rescue a suitcase. The suitcase contained the loot from a bank robbery in which a police officer was shot.

After graduation, Duncan became an officer in the United States Marine Corps , where he was employed as a war photographer. After brief deployments in California and Hawaii , he was sent to the South Pacific when the USA entered World War II . Although he was mostly only involved as a reporter in the war, Duncan was embroiled in a skirmish with the Japanese on the island of Bougainville . On board the USS Missouri (BB-63) , Duncan finally witnessed the surrender of Japan .

Duncan's war photographs were so impressive that after the war he was hired by Life Magazine at the insistence of JR Eyermans, the magazine 's photography director at the time. Duncan has traveled to Turkey, Eastern Europe, Africa and the Middle East for Life . In India he documented the end of British colonial rule in 1947/48 .

David Douglas Duncan's most famous recordings were made during the Korean War . Duncan was working in Tokyo during this time. There he got to know Nikon's Nikkor lenses through the young Japanese photographer Jun Miki . From July 1950 to January 1951 he documented the Korean War as a photojournalist with Nikkor lenses for the M39 screw thread. Excellent results increased interest in “Nippon Kogaku” products. “DDD” acquired the 1.5 / 50, 2/85 and 3.5 / 135 screw-in Nikkor lenses for its Leica . The 85 mm lens was particularly impressive in terms of its image quality. Duncan was familiar with those in his first book, This Is War! A Photo Narrative of the Korean War. (1951) published pictures taken with Nikkor lenses world-famous. In it he also portrayed the relatives of the war victims. Duncan received the 200,000th Nikon F from the manufacturer in 1965 in recognition of the popularization of the brand through his use of Nikon products .

With the Vietnam War , the critical volumes of photographs followed I protest! (1968) and War Without Heroes (1970), in which Duncan departed from his role as a neutral correspondent and questioned the approach of the US government.

In addition to war photography, Duncan also became known for photographs by Pablo Picasso, whom he had met through Robert Capa . Picasso and his dachshund Lump , who was originally owned by Duncan, have created seven illustrated books over the years.

With Yankee Nomad , Duncan presented a photographic autobiography in 1966 that presents a cross-section of his most famous works. An updated version appeared in 2003 under the title Photo Nomad .

In February 2014 it was announced that he would bequeath 160 photographs by Picasso from the time the artist lived in the "Villa Californie" in southern France to the Art Museum Pablo Picasso Münster .

Duncan lived in Castellaras, southern France, near Mougins , where Picasso had spent his final years. He died in June 2018 at the age of 102.

Publications

About Pablo Picasso

  • The Private World of Pablo Picasso . Harper & Brothers, New York City, USA, 1958.
    • German: translated by Inga Hamilton: The private world of Pablo Picasso . Burda Druck und Verlag GmbH, Offenburg in Baden, (1958).
  • Goodbye Picasso . Molden, Vienna, Munich 1982, ISBN 3-217-00676-3 .
  • Viva Picasso. For his 100th birthday . Molden, Vienna, Munich 1984, ISBN 3-217-01203-8 .
  • Picasso and Jacqueline . Hatje Cantz Verlag, 1988, ISBN 3-7757-0259-8 .
  • Picasso & Lump. A Dachshund's Odyssey . Benteli Verlag, Bern 2006, ISBN 3-7165-1435-7 .

Awards and recognitions

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ David Douglas Duncan, 'photo nomad' who captured war and Picasso, dies at 102 , washingtonpost.com, accessed June 8, 2018
  2. ↑ Peter Braczko, Nikon Fascination, History - Technology - Myth from 1917 to today, Hückelhoven 1992, ISBN 3-88984-047-7 , p. 27ff and table 2
  3. ↑ David Douglas Duncan, This Is War! A Photo Narrative of the Korean War . Little, Brown & Company, 1990, ISBN 0-316-19565-0
  4. ↑ Nikon.com: Debut of Nikon F . Retrieved November 23, 2015.
  5. ↑ You take what is in front of you in FAZ of January 22, 2016, page 13
  6. ↑ Photographer David Douglas Duncan gives 160 works to the Picasso Museum ( Memento from February 21, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), monopol-magazin.de, accessed on February 12, 2014
  7. ↑ KC-born photographer David Douglas Duncan was an eyewitness to history , kansascity.com, May 23, 2015, accessed December 14, 2015
  8. ↑ Il Tirreno, Il fotografo Duncan è cittadino onorario , May 31, 2015 ( reference ).
personal data
SURNAME Duncan, David Douglas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American photojournalist
DATE OF BIRTH January 23, 1916
PLACE OF BIRTH Kansas City , Missouri , USA
DATE OF DEATH 7th June 2018
Place of death Grasse , France