Esther Bubley

April 1943. Washington, D.C. “Girl sitting alone in the Sea Grill waiting for a pickup. ‘I come in here pretty often, sometimes alone, mostly with another girl, we drink beer, and talk, and of course we keep our eyes open — you’d be surprised at how often nice lonesome soldiers ask Sue, the waitress, to introduce them to us.’ ” Medium-format nitrate negative by Esther Bubley for the OWI.

October 1943. Washington, D.C. “Sweaters and long ropes of beads are popular with the girls at Woodrow Wilson High School.”  Photograph by Esther Bubley for the Office of War Information.

15-cent photo booth in the lobby at the United Nations service center at Washington, D.C. December 1943.  Photograph by Esther Bubley.

Esther Bubley

Beer Drinkers at the Sea Grill, Washington, DC

1943 Esther Bubley Born: Wisconsin 1922 Died: New York, New York 1998 gelatin silver print on paper sheet and image: 10 x 10 3/8 in. (25.5 x 26.3 cm.) Smithsonian American Art Museum Museum purchase made possible by Mrs. Lawrence S. Lesser and Stephen Seymour Thomas

Passengers on a Bus at the Greyhound Terminal in New York City

1947 Esther Bubley Born: Wisconsin 1922 Died: New York, New York 1998 gelatin silver print on paper sheet and image: 7 5/8 x 13 1/2 in. (19.4 x 34.3 cm.) irregular Smithsonian American Art Museum Museum purchase made possible by Mrs. Alexander Hamilton Rice and Linda Adair Miller

Soldiers (couple at bus terminal)

1943 Esther Bubley Born: Wisconsin 1922 Died: New York, New York 1998 gelatin silver print on paper sheet and image: 10 5/8 x 10 1/4 in. (27.0 x 26.0 cm.) Smithsonian American Art Museum Museum purchase made possible by Mrs. Lawrence S. Lesser and Stephen Seymour Thomas