What is the title of Alfred Eisenstaedt’s famous 1945 V-J Day photograph?

Alfred Eisenstaedt’s famous 1945 V-J Day photograph is titled V-J Day in Times Square.

The image shows a U.S. Navy sailor kissing a woman in a white uniform during celebrations in New York City on 14 August 1945. Eisenstaedt photographed the scene in Times Square as crowds awaited news that Japan had accepted the Allied surrender terms.

Life magazine published the photograph the following week in a special section about victory celebrations. Its striking composition quickly made it one of the best-known images associated with the end of World War II.

The photograph is often called the “V-J Day kiss,” but that is a descriptive nickname rather than its formal title. Navy photographer Victor Jorgensen captured another view of the same moment and titled his version Kissing the War Goodbye.