Iconic Picture

V-J Day in Times Square

V-J Day in Times Square, a photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt, was published in Life in 1945.

On that day, at that time, a photographer named Alfred Eisenstaedt was looking for the perfect moment to capture the joyous occasion forever. And sure enough, he got his shot. People now wonder whether his iconic photograph depicts a moment of actual celebration or an unfortunate sexual assault. As Eisenstaedt was looking around, dissatisfied with the material he had up to that point, suddenly, a movement near him called his attention. A young man was running around in extravagant jubilation. Eisenstaedt's photographer instincts kicked in as he took the fateful photograph. It was a sailor who had run over to a girl and kissed her in what appeared to be a romantic, festive instant of sheer bliss. This kiss represented, as far as anyone could tell, the mood of an entire nation—the energy, passion, romance, euphoria, and exhilaration of youth itself, the very features that empowered America to win the war in the first place. Eisenstaedt never asked the couple's names, nor did he do much to find out the full story behind his own photo. That wasn’t the point, after all.