When LIFE magazine visited Big Sur in 1959, the Esalen Institute was three years from opening, but the coastal community had long been attracting free-thinking types.

LIFE magazine was fortunate enough to visit Cabo Blanco in 1959, when the club was still in its heyday. Staff photographer Frank Schershel captured the fisherman out at sea and along the …

Anita Ekberg was twenty years old when she first appeared in LIFE magazine. In 1951 the magazine breathlessly introduced this relative unknown model to readers in a story headlined “ …

Parks’ photo of Gould bent over the piano in his signature posture as he records Bach while sound engineers hover overhead is one of the most popular in the LIFE print store.

So it’s likely that LIFE staffers caught many shows there, perhaps even sneaking out of the office for an afternoon movie break. The demolition meant goodbye to all that.

The following is adapted from the introductio n to LIFE’s new special issue Sharks: Predators of the Sea, which is available here online and at newsstands: Few words in the American …

LIFE described the planning of the wedding as “a full-time job,” and Leen documented all that went into it. That included the dress shopping, the cake selection, the addressing of the …

In 1968 LIFE magazine summed up the appeal of French philosopher and author Albert Camus with a single sentence: “Camus looked directly into the darkness as saw sun—the human spirit.”

The world is watching to see where Leo takes the See of Rome and the millions who look to it for guidance and, ultimately, salvation. Here are a selection of photos from LIFE’s new special …

Explore LIFE magazine within the LIFE photography vault, one of the most prestigious & privately held archives from the US & around the World.