LIFE Archive War Images . . . with a little help from a friend

A kind and generous fellow resident of Hawaii named Larry has shared with me a remarkable 

group of World War II photos from the LIFE Archive.  Since we are both in the Pacific, I felt 

it fitting to begin with the Pacific Theater of the war.  This charming photo of a soldier showering on Midway in 1942 is by Joe Scherschel.  Good to see the food rations were getting through OK.

Thanks to Larry's generosity, I have this George Strock photo of two soldiers washing in a 

shell hole near Buna, New Guinea.  Strock's most famous Buna photo was one of 

several dead American soldiers on a beach.  It took a year of struggling with censors and the invervention of President Roosevelt himself to get that one published, but it actually became a powerful impetus to the war effort.  All of today's images are from the LIFE Archive.

Today's twofer is a composite I made of two photos by Bernard Hoffman of the same American soldier washing his truck in the Burma region.  Hoffman's series was called "Ledo Road" and it portrayed the arduous effort to supply China via the Burma and Ledo roads.  Many thanks to Larry from Hawaii for researching and sharing these photos from the LIFE Archive.

Ralph Morse took this photo of soldiers washing their Jeep (and themselves) on 

Guadalcanal in 1942.  Morse was only 24 when he became a war photographer.

From the LIFE Archive.

This the second photo I've posted today that Joe Scherschel took on Midway Island in 1942.  I also posted one taken of a different soldier in this same shower set-up on my old tumblr. 

Many thanks to Larry from Hawaii for generously sharing today's pictures from the LIFE Archive.

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes

Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (1824-1898) was a highly regarded French painter and professor.

Although not known for his male nudes, he was quite competent in that regard, 

so he is the featured artist for our Friday regular series.

I found this seemingly unfinished and untitled de Chavannes drawing on a sales website.  It looks like a study, and if so, I really wish I could find the finished version.

De Chavannes was very influential and was known at one point as "the Painter of France."

This is French Olympians from 1897.  Expand for detail.

This is a meticulously done study by de Chavannes for the painting which follows.

This is the finished version of The Forgers from 1863.  Expand it if you can and 

compare it to de Chavannes study for it which precedes it in this series.

This is just a rough drawing for an unknown de Chavannes work,

but it shows a good anatomical sense of the model's muscles.

Men with Ropes . . . just not tied up this time.

Our photo series for Friday is about men with ropes, 

and we start with Don Olsen by Douglas of Detroit.

Ed Johnson posed for Bruce of LA in an extensive photo session, and I have at least 10 images from it in my collection.  This is probably my favorite, and not because of the rope.

This unknown AMG model gives an impression of strength and determination.

Tom Cowans posed with a rope across his shoulders in this

photo by Chuck Renslow of Kris Studio.

For some reason I find the positioning of the feet more interesting
than the rope in this Al Urban photo of an unknown model.

Eakins and Crew in the Country

The great 19th American painter, photographer, and professor Thomas Eakins was fond of taking his male students for outings in the countryside near Philadelphia.  Apparently there were six "regulars" on these expeditions because there are a number of photos where six nude students can be seen.  This example is one of a number of studies for the famous Eakins painting The Swimming Hole, and that is said to be  Eakins himself getting some help exiting the water at lower right.

It bears repeating that Eakins was quite willing to have his photo made nude, 

in this case by an unknown student who was probably also a model.  And here he is.

This tug of war photo shows six of Eakins' students 

having fun together and making some art at the same time.

J. Laurie Wallace (at right) posed with the same unknown fellow student for at least five outdoor photos.  He also posed nude with Eakins, but I'm not sure it was the same occasion.

This is one of several outdoor boxing photos Eakins made 

of his male students, apparently all from the same trip to the country.

Keith Stephan, Part 2

Our second series of Keith Stephan features five posing strap photos.

This one looks like it was made at Bruce of LA's small ranch outside Los Angeles.

Keith Stephan flashed a nice smile in this poolside photo by an unknown photographer.

AMG comes to mind as the origin of this photo of Keith, but the source had no notes.

The hand on the thigh is a nice touch in this unattributed photo of Keith Stephan.

I feel like the background should give away the photographer, but I can't place it.

Spartan took this photo of Keith Stephan which appeared in Physique Pictorial.

Keith Stephan, Part 1

About a month ago, I ran a Wednesday double feature on a single model, Bud Counts, and it was well received.  So today, I'm doing another series focusing on Keith Stephan.  I referred to Bud as a "big man" of the physique world, only to learn that he was 5'8".  Keith, shown here in a photo by an unknown photographer, really filled that bill at 6'2" and 223 lbs.

The interplay of light and shadow is nice in this unattributed photo of Keith Stephan.

This one of several photos of Keith Stephan in my collection by Bruce of LA.  

I posted this one today because of the unusual pose.

This unattributed photo of Keith Stephan almost gives 

the impression that he is looking at himself in a hand mirror.

Lyle Frisby took this photo of Keith Stephan in semi-profile.

myselfixion - - - one of my favorite blogs, and that's not fiction

A few days ago I lamented the lack of a "reblog" button on Google Blogger, so I've decided to work around that and post an occasional series of whole day sets of images from my favorite blogs.  I'm starting with myselfixion, near the top of my list because of its wide range of topical variety and an ability to find material that no one else has that should be legendary.  So I'm starting with this tasty beach photo and urging you all to visit https://myselfixion.newtumbl.com/ for more.

One of my chief interests, vintage military nudity, is frequently featured on myselfixion.  I think these are WWII Germans, and there's more at https://myselfixion.newtumbl.com/ .

This photo of a shapely derriere will make the Bum Brigade happy, although sometimes the full picture is better.   Anyway, you can find it and others at  https://myselfixion.newtumbl.com/ .

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This rather sly looking fellow is intently looking at something off to his left.  He looks like he's from that "in between" period of the early 20th Century that came after the Classic 19th C. nudes and before the golden era of physique.  Check out more at https://myselfixion.newtumbl.com/ .

Like any competent eclectic blogger, the proprietor of myselfixion occasionally posts some late 60's physique model trollops.  Of course there's more at https://myselfixion.newtumbl.com/ .

The numerous Brian Idol fans out there will no doubt enjoy 

this Bruce of LA photo of their idol with a ladder.
Edited to add:  This actually Ron Wallace.  See notes for discussion.

Men on Ladders

Today I will feature some models on ladders, starting with John Hamill by Barrington.

Bruce of LA used the same ladder in this photo of Johnny Stumps 

that he used with the photo of Brian Idol that also appears today.

This Lon of New York photo of Raul Pacheco is the best I could do on short notice for a 

derriere on a ladder.  The things I do to keep the Bum Brigade happy!

This is the only photo of today's series about which I have no info.  Although Champion Studio had its own block of lockers like those and was known for the liberal use of props, the model doesn't seem to fit Walter Kundzicz's usual type at all.  But I could be wrong.  I've been wrong before.

Minor White, Part 2 - Semi-nudes

For our G-rated series, I've chosen some Minor White semi-nudes that stand out.

This model with some boards and a cloth is exceptionally well lighted.

The shadow line on the model's right arm presents an interesting, almost puzzling effect.

The driftwood, the man, and the sand all work together in this one.

I wish there were more photos of this Minor White model.

I really like the interplay of the shadows and silhouette in this White beach photo.

Minor White, Part 1 - Male Nudes

Minor White (1908-1976) was an exceptional photographer and teacher of fine art photography who is best known for taking photos of nature and architecture to which he would give an abstract treatment.  (Search Google Images, and see what I mean.)  For our purposes, as usual, we will focus on the limited number of male nudes that he did.  This one is Minor and His Disciples from 1972.

This 1948 photo is Tom Murphy with a piece of driftwood.  When Minor White completed a series of mostly nude photos featuring Tom, he made two sets of prints and bound them in book.  He kept one for himself and gave the other to the model.  Some of those prints appear later in today's series.

This is Tom Murphy from the exceptional series of photos called The Temptation of Saint 

Anthony Is Mirrors.  Minor White could have been jailed had he distributed or exhibited 

it when it was made in 1947-48.  The first full showing of the entire work was at the 

Getty Museum in 2014, but it would have been perfectly legal any time after 1968

While he was well known for making outdoor photos of landscapes and architecture, 

this outdoor nude is a rarity in Minor White's portfolio.