Marjory Collins (1912–1985) was an American photojournalist. She is remembered for her coverage of the

home front Home front is an English language term with analogues in other languages. It is commonly used to describe the civilian populace of the nation at war as an active support system for their military. Civilians are traditionally uninvolved in com ...

during

World War II 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 ...

Personal life

Marjory Collins was born March 15, 1912, to Elizabeth Everts Paine and writer Frederick Lewis Collins in New York City, and grew up in nearby Scarsdale, Westchester County. She died in 1985 at the age of 73.

Education

She studied at

Sweet Briar College Sweet Briar College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's liberal arts college in Sweet Briar, Amherst County, Virginia, Amherst County, Virginia. It was established in 1901 by Indiana Fletcher Williams in ...

and the

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich, LMU or LMU Munich; ) is a public university, public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of Ingolstadt in 1472 by Duke ...

. In 1935, Collins moved to Greenwich Village, and over the next five years she studied photography informally with

Ralph Steiner Ralph Steiner (February 8, 1899 – July 13, 1986) was an American photographer, pioneer documentarian and a key figure among avant-garde filmmakers in the 1930s. Photographer Born in Cleveland, Steiner studied chemistry at Dartmouth, but i ...

and attended

Photo League The Photo League was a cooperative of photographers in New York City, New York who banded together around a range of common social and creative causes. Founded in 1936, the League included some of the most noted American photographers of the mid-20 ...

events. In the 1980s she moved to San Francisco where she obtained an M.A. in American Studies at

Antioch College West Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as t ...

Career

Her work as a documentary photographer was taken up by major agencies. As a result of a contribution for '' U.S. Camera and Travel'' about

Hoboken, New Jersey Hoboken ( ; ) is a City (New Jersey), city in Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the ...

, she was invited to work for the Foreign Service of the

United States Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...

. She completed some 50 assignments there with stories about the American way of life and support for the war effort. In line with new emphasis on multiculturalism, she contributed to photographic coverage of

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

s as well as citizens of Czech, German, Italian and Jewish origin.Beverly W. Brannan, "Marjory Collins (1912-1985): Biographical Essay"
The Library of Congress. Retrieved 18 March 2013. In 1944 Collins worked freelance for a construction company in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

before travelling to Africa and Europe on government and commercial assignments. Thereafter she worked mainly as an editor and a writer covering

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

, the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

and women's movements. In the 1960s she edited ''

American Journal of Public Health The ''American Journal of Public Health'' is a monthly peer-reviewed public health journal published by the American Public Health Association that covers health policy and public health. The journal was established in 1911 and its stated mission ...

''. Collins was very active politically; a feminist, she founded the journal ''Prime Time'' (1971–76) "for the liberation of women in the prime of life." In 1977 Collins became an associate of the

Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press Women's Institute for Freedom of the Press (WIFP) is an American nonprofit publishing organization that was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1972. The organization works to increase media democracy and strengthen independent media. Basic informati ...

. Her work is included in the collection of the

Museum of Fine Arts Houston The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. The permanent collection of the museum spans more than 5,000 years of history with nearly 80,000 works from six continents. Follo ...

Gallery

File:N.Y. Children's Colony 04108v.jpg, New York, N.Y. Children's Colony, German refugee child, reading a

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

comic book File:200 high school students chosen for their intellectual alertness visited Washington for a week8d23128v.jpg, 200 high school students chosen for their intellectual alertness visited

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

for a week File:Children waiting in line to buy defense stamps at public school 8d24230v.jpg, Children waiting in line to buy defense stamps at public school from mothers who volunteer to guard doorways and perform other duties in schools File:Emma Dougherty who does a man's work for a man's pay 8d10716v.jpg, Emma Dougherty who does a man's work for a man's pay, cleaning out her end-grinding machine

References

External links

Examples of Marjory Collins' work from The Library of Congress

Papers of Marjory CollinsSchlesinger Library
Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. {{DEFAULTSORT:Collins, Marjory 1912 births 1985 deaths American photojournalists Antioch College alumni 20th-century American women writers Journalists from New York City American women non-fiction writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women photographers 20th-century American photographers People of the United States Office of War Information American women photojournalists