Bouïra
Bouïra is the capital of Bouïra Province, Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; ...
,
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
– August 22, 1996 in
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
) was a photographer for
Life magazine
''Life'' (stylized as ''LIFE'') is an American magazine launched in 1883 as a weekly publication. In 1972, it transitioned to publishing "special" issues before running as a monthly from 1978 to 2000. Since then, ''Life'' has irregularly publi ...
from the 1930s to the 1950s who was known for his
war
War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
photograph
A photograph (also known as a photo, or more generically referred to as an ''image'' or ''picture'') is an image created by light falling on a photosensitivity, photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor. Th ...
s.
French by birth, John Phillips was born in
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
, to a Welsh emigre father and an American mother. He spent his early childhood in an Arab world, before his family moved to
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in 1925, first to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and then to
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million"Free Spirit in a Troubled World" book synopsis at
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble Booksellers is an American bookseller with the largest number of retail outlets in the United States. The company operates approximately 600 retail stores across the United States.
Barnes & Noble operates mainly through its B ...
's web site
He was hired by
Life
Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
in 1936 and his first assignment was to cover
Edward VIII
Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...
's opening of Parliament. His pictures were included in the magazine's first issue (on November 23, 1936) and he went on to cover many events of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to:
* National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra
* National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred
*National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C.
*National Portrait Gallery, London
...
web site He photographed Yugoslav guerrilla leader
Draža Mihailović
Dragoljub "Draža" Mihailović ( sr-Cyrl, Драгољуб "Дража" Михаиловић; 27 April 1893 – 17 July 1946) was a Yugoslavs, Yugoslav Serb general during World War II. He was the leader of the Chetniks, Chetnik Detachments ...
in June 1946 during his trial in Belgrade. He shot the last images of
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, vicomte de Saint-Exupéry (29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944), known simply as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (, , ), was a French writer, poet, journalist and aviator.
Born in Lyon to an French nobility, aristocratic ...
in 1944. Saint Exupery, days before he disappeared, gave Phillips a manuscript, "Letter to an American " which Phillips eventually donated to France. He documented the expulsion of Jews and the destruction and sacking of the
Jewish Quarter Jewish Quarter may refer to:
*Jewish quarter (diaspora), areas of many cities and towns traditionally inhabited by Jews
*Jewish Quarter (Jerusalem), one of the four traditional quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem
*Jewish Quarter (), a popular name ...
that took place during the
Battle for Jerusalem
The Battle for Jerusalem took place during the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, 1947–1948 civil war phase of the 1947–1949 Palestine war. It saw Jewish and Arab militias in Mandatory Palestine, and later the militaries of Isra ...
during the
1947–1949 Palestine war
The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. During the war, the British withdrew from Palestine, Zionism, Zionist forces conquered territory and established ...
. Phillips disguised himself as a British member of the
Arab Legion
The Arab Legion () was the police force, then regular army, of the Emirate of Transjordan, a British protectorate, in the early part of the 20th century, and then of the Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, an independent state, with a final Ar ...
to get in, managing to avoid censorship from the Arab authorities.
John Phillips has been described as the "grand-godfather of photo-journalism, a master of lenses and multiple languages; elegant, exuberant and chrome-steel effectual, who has recorded in his own peripatetic way some of the freshest footprints of history."
He had almost completed his autobiography when he died. The book was published posthumously by Scalo as "Free Spirit in a Troubled World"
In 2010 the United States Postal Service issued a stamp commemorating WW II cartoonist Bill Mauldin. The stamp features a portrait of Mauldin taken in December 1943 by John Phillips.
Books
* "Odd World: a photo-reporter's story" (1959) Simon & Schuster, NY
* "Bled to the Gutter: a photo-reporter's story" (1960) Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London.
* "The Italians: face of a nation" (1965) Mcgraw-Hill, NY.
* ''Jerusalem: A Will To Survive'' (1976) Dial Press
* ''Yugoslav Story'' (1984)
* ''It Happened in Our Lifetime'' (1985) Little, Brown
* ''Poet and Pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupery'' (1994) Scalo
External links
Pics of John Phillips to music by composer Yitzhak Yedid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVjHU8zbYck