Thérèse Bonney

Thérèse Bonney (born Mabel Bonney; July 15, 1894 – January 15, 1978) was an American photographer and publicist. She was best known for her images taken during World War II on the Russian-Finnish front. Her war effort earned her the decoration of the Croix de Guerre in May 1941, and one of the five degrees the Légion d’honneur. She published several photo-essays, and was the subject of the 1944 True Comics issue "Photo-fighter."

Early life and education Mabel Thérèse Bonney was born in July 15, 1894, in Syracuse, New York. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of California, Berkeley in 1916 and a master's degree the following year from Radcliffe College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She settled in Paris and studied at the Sorbonne from 1918–1919, publishing a thesis on the moral ideas in the theater of Alexandre Dumas, père. She earned a docteur-des-lettres degree in 1921. She thus became the youngest person, the fourth woman, and the tenth American of either sex to earn the degree from the institution. She was also the first American to receive a scholarship from the Sorbonne. After graduation she received multiple sources of financial aid, including the Horatio Stebbins Scholarship; the Belknap, Baudrillart, and Billy Fellowships; and the Carl Schurz Memorial Foundation Oberländer grant in 1936, which allowed her to study German contributions to the history of photography.

She also traveled through western Europe during the World War II, taking photographs of children in dire conditions. A collection of the images were shown at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1940 and later published in her 1943 book Europe's Children. Other activities included serving with the Croix-rouge (French International Red Cross). During the war, she also performed missions for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS).

Toward the end of her life, Bonney donated her estate of furniture to her Alma mater in Berkeley, California, and photographs and negatives — many duplicates of one another — to a number of other institutions in the U.S. and France. Other documents and books were donated to St. Bonaventure University by Ralph King. She died in Paris on January 15, 1978.

Exhibitions "War Comes to People: History Written with a Lens by Therese Bonney," The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1940. "Selections from the Thérèse Bonney Collection of the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum," International Center for Photography, New York, 1976. "Paris Recorded: Thérèse Bonney Collection," Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, New York, 1985. "Aren't They Lively?: An Exhibition of the Bequest of Thérèse Bonney, Class of 1916, University of California," Berkeley Art Museum, June–September 1992.

Works

With sister Louise Bonney. Buying Antique and Modern Furniture in Paris. New York: Robert M. McBride and Company, 1929 | Library of Congress NK949.P27.B6 With sister Louise Bonney. French Cooking for American Kitchens. New York: Robert M. McBride and Company, 1929 | Library of Congress TX719.B673 With sister Louise Bonney. Guide to The Restaurants of Paris. New York: Robert M. McBride and Company, 1929 | Library of Congress TX637.B6 With sister Louise Bonney. A Shopping Guide to Paris. New York: Robert M. McBride and Company, 1929 | Library of Congress DC708.B55 Remember When: A Pictorial Chronicle of the Turn of The Century and of The Days Known as Edwardian....From The Collection of M. Therese Bonney. New York: Coward McCann, 1933 | Library of Congress N7592.B6 Europe's Children, 1939 - 1943, New York: Rhode Publishing, 1943 | Library of Congress D810.C4 B68 1944 Rattray, R. F. with photographs by Bonney. Bernard Shaw: A Chronicle. New York: Roy Publishers, 1951 | Library of Congress PR5366.R3