Bradley Smith

Bradley Smith (1910–1997) was an American photojournalist whose work for Life magazine and numerous others helped shape mid‑20th‑century visual culture. Born in New Orleans, he moved with his family to Karnes City, Texas, where at age twelve he began photographing ranchers and cowboys. His early portraits displayed a natural ease with people that would become his trademark.

In the 1940s Smith joined Life as a staff photographer and freelanced for Time, The Saturday Evening Post, Vogue, American Heritage, and Paris Match. He captured iconic figures such as Helen Keller, Mahatma Gandhi, and President Harry S. Truman, but is perhaps best remembered for his intimate jazz portraits of Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong.

Frustrated by how magazine photographers were treated, Smith co‑founded the American Society of Magazine Photographers (now the American Society of Media Photographers) in 1944, advocating for fair fees and rights. In 1954 he expanded into writing, authoring over twenty books on subjects ranging from travel and art history to cultural studies and autobiography. Smith’s legacy endures in his memorable images and his lifelong fight to professionalize and protect the craftspeople behind the camera.