This category includes photographs that have gained historical significance or widespread recognition. Some images document important moments or cultural shifts, while others have become iconic through their powerful composition, subject, or influence on how particular events or eras are remembered.
Historic & Iconic
Egyptian Mummy Seller (1875 CE)
Depicting an egyptian street vendor surrounded by mummified bodies and artifacts for sale, this image evokes the era's fascination with Egyptomania, blending curiosity, exploitation, and a disregard for cultural heritage.
Albert Einstein Sticks Out His Tongue (1951 CE)
Taken on 72nd birthday, this black-and-white image shows Albert Einstein in a lighthearted, unconventional pose that has come to symbolize his eccentric charm and nonconformist spirit.
The Critic (1943 CE)
The Critic was created on November 22, 1943, during the height of World War II, when the United States was deeply involved in global conflict, yet New York's elite maintained their opulent lifestyles.
Bandit’s Roost, Mulberry Street (c. 1888 CE)
This black-and-white photograph depicts a group of young men, likely affiliated with local street gangs, posing defiantly in a narrow, shadowy alleyway known as Bandit’s Roost in the notorious Five Points neighborhood.
Cotton Mill Girl (1908 CE)
The Cotton Mill Girl (Sadie Pfeifer), 1908 is one of the most arresting images produced by Lewis Hine. The photograph shows a frail young girl standing beside an enormous cotton-spinning machine in a South Carolina mill.
Migrant Mother (1936 CE)
Widowed in 1931 and responsible for seven children by 1936, this mother was part of the vast internal migration of American families forced to travel in search of seasonal agricultural work during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl years.
Tank Man (1989 CE)
On the morning of June 5, 1989, in the tense silence that followed one of the most violent political crackdowns of the late twentieth century, a solitary figure stepped into the wide expanse of Chang’an Avenue in Beijing to become known as tank man.
Pinkerton, President Lincoln and McClernand (1862 CE)
The photograph originated during President Lincoln's inspection visit to the Union Army's encampment at Antietam, Maryland, following the Battle of Antietam (also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg) on September 17, 1862.
Acrobats Balance on Top of the Empire State Building (1934 CE)
The photo depicts three acrobats, known as the Three Jacksons, performing a precarious balancing act on the narrow ledge of the Empire State Building's 86th-floor observation deck, 1,050 feet (320 meters) above the streets of Manhattan.
The First Photograph of Machu Picchu (1911 CE)
The photo transports viewers to a remote precipice high above the Urubamba River, sparking curiosity about the sophisticated civilization that once thrived there and the explorer who unveiled Machu Picchu to the modern world.
The Family Who Raised Pet Lions (1970s CE)
It began in the summer of 1970 when Nina Berberov and her daughter Eva visited a zoo in Baku and discovered a sickly lion cub, that Eva initially mistook for a dying dog.
Dina Sanichar “Mowgli” (1889-1894 CE)
Discovered in 1867 in the forests of northern India, he was described as a child who had lived for years among wolves, moving on all fours and communicating through growls rather than speech, just like the fictional character Mowgli.