Known to many as the King of photographic essays, William Eugene Smith set the standard for photojournalism through his captivating photographic essays.
Smith submitted his work to publications such as LIFE, often risked his emotional well-being in order to capture certain moments. In fact, Smith has been recognized as a figure in the world of photography as the symbol of devotion to one’s work. As Smith is quoted in saying, he “never made any picture, good or bad, without paying for it in emotional turmoil.”
Born in 1918 in Wichita, Kansas, Smith began taking photographs at the young age of 15 for two of his local newspapers. He went on to attend the New York Institute of Photography, and in 1937 he began his career at News-week (now referred to as Newsweek). However, he was fired for refusing to use medium-format cameras. He moved onto working as war photographer for Flying Magazine, LIFE magazine, and Parade, respectively. Throwing himself wholeheartedly into these projects, Smith suffered severe injuries while working as a war correspondent for Parade during the American offensive against Japan. After recovering, he headed back to work, returning to the brutal war scenes.
Smith passed away from a stroke in 1987, a year after moving to Tucson to teach at the University of Arizona. In Tucson, The Center for Creative Photography currently holds Smith’s archives. Additionally, to keep his legacy alive, the W. Eugene Smith Fund was established in 1979 “to seek out and encourage” photographers who are working to protect the integrity of authentic photojournalism. There is also a two-volume book reflecting on Smith’s life and career that is still on shelves today.
Smith is forever remembered as an individual who transformed the photo essay into a refined art form. Smith showed the power of photographic essays through his beautifully disturbing coverage of World War II, Dr. Schweitzer’s clinic in French Equatorial Africa, the riotous city of Pittsburgh, the struggles of American physicians, and the deleterious pollution affecting residents of Minamata, Japan. As the website for the W. Eugene Smith Memorial fund states, “[Smith’s] work was his memorial.”
