Meet Margaret Bourke-White

Born in the Bronx, New York, in 1904, Margaret Bourke-White was one of the most prominent pioneers of early 20^th century photography and one of the first women to work commercially in the field. 

Bourke-White started out as a commercial industrial photographer, taking images of life in the steel mills that surrounded her studio in Cleveland, Ohio. This work brought her to the attention of Henry Luce, the publisher of Fortune, who hired her as an associate editor and staff photographer in 1929. 

The following year, Bourke-White was sent to the Soviet Union where she became the first foreign photographer to take images of Soviet industry. She would return to Russia a number of times during her career, photographing numerous aspects of life in the USSR in the process.  

On her return to the US, Bourke-White began photographing the effects of the Great Depression. Her project, Have You Seen Their Faces? Published in 1937, documents the Dust Bowl and its impact on the local population.

In 1936, Henry Luce recruited Bourke-White to join his new project, Life Magazine. The very first issue of Life featured one of her photos of the Fort Peck Dam on the cover. She would go on to contribute regularly to the publication during her long career. 

During the Second World War, Bourke-White became one of the world’s most prominent photojournalists. Often to be found in the heart of the action, she traveled extensively in Europe throughout the early 1940s. 

During the conflict, she became the only Western photographer to witness the German invasion of Moscow in 1941 and the first woman to accompany an Air Corps crew on a bombing mission. In 1945, she traveled with General Patton’s army as it swept through Germany, liberating a number of concentration camps on the way. 

A number of her images focus on the role of women during the war. Bourke-White photographed a selection of women’s organizations and went to factories and mills to meet the women working on the front lines of American industry. 

After the war, Bourke-White continued to photograph some of the world’s most famous events including Gandhi’s fight for Indian independence, the Korean War and civil unrest in South Africa. Her ability to communicate easily with people from all walks of life helped her to take fantastic portraits and gain access to places and people that were off limits to most other photographers.

Throughout her career, Bourke-White was able to put a human face on some of the biggest events of the 20^th century. These images have become iconic and, for many modern viewers, have come to represent the events of the era. 

In 1953, Bourke-White was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. She completed her last photo essay for Life in 1957. She died from the condition at home in 1971. 

Find out more about Margaret Bourke-White and her incredible life and career here.