Which photographer took the best-known V-J Day kiss photograph in New York’s Times Square?

Alfred Eisenstaedt took the best-known V-J Day kiss photograph in New York’s Times Square.

The photograph shows a U.S. Navy sailor kissing a woman in a white dress during celebrations on 14 August 1945. Eisenstaedt was working for Life magazine and captured the image with a Leica IIIa camera. Life published it a week later, giving the picture a full-page display in a special section about victory celebrations.

The woman was later identified as Greta Zimmer Friedman, a dental assistant, and the sailor as George Mendonsa. Eisenstaedt did not record their names at the time, and multiple people later claimed to be the subjects. The image’s spontaneous appearance helped make it one of the most recognizable photographs associated with the end of World War II.

Victor Jorgensen photographed the same embrace from a different angle for the U.S. Navy. His image appeared in The New York Times and is often confused with Eisenstaedt’s photograph, but Eisenstaedt took the famous Life image.