Horace Bristol was a renowned American photographer and photojournalist best known for his powerful documentary images of 20th-century life, particularly during the Great Depression and World War II. His work captured both the hardship and dignity of people living through turbulent times, and he is considered a significant figure in American photography.
Born in Whittier, CA, Bristol studied at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena before moving to San Francisco, where he began working for Architectural Digest. In the 1930s, he became associated with the Farm Security Administration (FSA) and worked alongside notable photographers like Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans, though he wasn't officially part of the FSA roster.
One of his most famous collaborations was with author John Steinbeck, documenting the plight of migrant workers in California. Their planned book project was never published, but the images remain powerful testaments to the era. These photographs are often associated with Steinbeck’s novel The Grapes of Wrath.
During WWII, Bristol became one of the original photographers for LIFE magazine and later served as a combat photographer with the U.S. Navy under Commander Edward Steichen. He captured striking images of the war in Asia and the Pacific, including the Japanese surrender aboard the USS Missouri in 1945.
PBY Blister Gunner is a striking wartime photograph that blends documentary realism with artistic depth. Not intended as a reference to the long history of the nude in art, this image emerged organically after the sailor shed his clothes to dive into the ocean and rescue a downed airman. Without taking the time to dress, he immediately returned to his post. The contrast between his bare body and the surrounding machinery however underscores the tension between human fragility and the brutal demands of war. Furthermore, his nudity and lack of identifying insignia remove any personal or military identity, making him stand in for every soldier.
Other examples of this image are in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn NY., The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston TX., and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, CA.
Bristol’s own account of the circumstances behind capturing the image “…we got a call to pick up an airman who was down in the Bay... one of our crew stripped off his clothes and jumped in to bring him aboard. He couldn’t have swum very well wearing his boots and clothes. … We weren’t waiting around for anybody to put on formal clothes... The naked man got back into his position at his gun in the blister of the plane.”