Perhaps the reason Look remained so focused on quality was because it was family-owned and run by the founder until its demise. Gardner “Mike” Cowles was working at the family newspaper in Iowa when he noticed that reader response was very positive when large photos ran along with stories. Life magazine had not yet launched so the idea of a large-format magazine primarily featuring photography was a novel idea. Below are pictures of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar when he was still Lew Alcindor, Willie Mays, and a young Mohammed Ali.
Despite being discouraged by other publishers and having no magazine experience himself, the young Cowles nonetheless launched Look with a mission of marrying good stories with large photo essays. It took a few years, but eventually the magazine found success. Here is a poignant photo of a young soldier going off to war, followed by a picture of Franklin D. Roosevelt and then a news seller’s reaction to the president’s death.
It was thanks in great part to Look and Life that photography came into its own as an art form. Between the two publications, circulation was nearly 20 million copies, exposing Americans to photos from many of the top photographers of the time. Next is a young Fidel Castro, revolutionary Ché Guevara, FBI head J. Edgar Hoover, and notorious Communist-hater Senator Joseph McCarthy.
Go to page 4 for photos of a prime minister, a duke, a prince, a King, and Marilyn Monroe.
This article was last modified on May 17, 2023
This article was first published on November 5, 2009
Commenting is easier and faster when you're logged in!
