Leonard McCombe
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Leonard McCombe (1923) is a Manx war photographer and photojournalist who worked for Life.
Life and work
Leonard McCombe was born on June 1st, 1923 on the Isle of Man, and grew up in Port Erin.[1]
He became a professional[2] photographer working on the Isle of Man at the age of 16, He then moved to England to work for Picture Post from 1943 to 1945, covering the allied advance across Europe to Berlin.[1][2]
In 1941, he joined the Royal Photographic Society (RPS) as a Junior Member in 1941 and became a Life Member in 1944. He gained his Associate in 1943 and Fellowship in 1944. The last reference for him on his RPS membership record card is in 1973 in New York state.[citation needed] Life claims that he "became the youngest Fellow in the history of the Royal Photographic Society",[3] though RPS records are unable to categorically support that claim.
He moved to the United States and started working for Life at the age of 22 in 1945.[3]
While working for Life, McCombe produced his most notable work, "Career Girl: Her Life and Problems" (May 3, 1948), which documented the life of 23-year-old Gwyned Filling, "a young college girl trying to make a start on an advertising career in New York".[4] "Career Girl" represents a significant milestone in the development of the photographic essay as one of the strongest examples of the form.[citation needed] It preceded the publishing of W. Eugene Smith's "Country Doctor", also in Life (September 20, 1948), by over four months.
McCombe's photograph of cowboy Clarence Hailey Long for Life (August 22, 1949) inspired advertising agency Leo Burnett to create the Marlboro Man advertising campaign.[1]
Of his process, McCombe stated:
This is the way it usually happens. You come in cold to an unfamiliar situation, where nobody knows you. The scenes you had imagined often turn out to be nonexistent. "What's going on?" you ask yourself. "Where's my story?" It's like being on the outside of a shop window looking in. Somehow, you have to break through the glass.[5]
The Gertrude and Leonard McCombe Foundation
With his wife, Gertrude, McCombe started the Gertrude and Leonard McCombe Foundation for wellness and cancer treatment.[n 1] Gertrude was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2014 and died in 2018.
Notes
References
- ^ a b c "Leonard McCombe - Biographies - iMuseum". iMuseum - Manx National Heritage. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
- ^ a b "The Gertrude and Leonard McCombe Foundation". The Gertrude and Leonard McCombe Foundation. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
- ^ a b "The Photography of Leonard McCombe". Life. Retrieved 2020-09-23.
- ^ Photojournalism, Life Library History of Photography. United States: Time Life Books. 1971. p. 68.
- ^ Photojournalism, Life Library History of Photography. United States: Time Life Books. 1971. p. 175.
Category:World War II photographers Category:American photojournalists Category:British photojournalists Category:20th-century American photographers Category:20th-century British photographers Category:Manx photographers Category:Living people Category:1923 births
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