What title did Navy photographer Victor Jorgensen give his alternate photo of the 1945 Times Square kiss?

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Victor Jorgensen titled his alternate photograph of the 1945 Times Square kiss Kissing the War Goodbye.

Jorgensen was a U.S. Navy photographer who captured the same spontaneous kiss as Alfred Eisenstaedt from a different angle. His photograph was published in The New York Times on August 15, 1945, while Eisenstaedt’s better-known image appeared in Life magazine.

The two pictures are often treated as if they were the same photograph, but they differ in framing and copyright status. Jorgensen’s image was made by a federal employee on official duty, so it entered the public domain. Eisenstaedt’s photograph was a privately made, copyrighted image.

Jorgensen’s view also helps identify the precise location in Times Square because it shows the front of the Chemical Bank and Trust building and a Walgreens sign. That visual evidence distinguishes his photograph from Eisenstaedt’s more tightly framed composition.

Source: Wikipedia · fact-checked Oct. 2026

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