“The Face of Victory: General Sir Bernard Montgomery at the Height of War”Commander, British Eighth Army — World War II, 1943, 1943

This striking full-face portrait captures General Sir Bernard Law Montgomery, one of the most influential Allied commanders of the Second World War, photographed in 1943 at the height of his wartime authority.

Instantly recognizable by his beret and unmistakable expression, Montgomery—known universally as “Monty”—embodied Allied resolve during the darkest years of the conflict. As Commander of the British Eighth Army, he played a decisive role in halting and reversing Axis momentum in North Africa, most notably with the victory at El Alamein, a turning point that Winston Churchill famously described as the moment when “the end of the beginning” had arrived.

This portrait was distributed by Allied press services, as confirmed by the verso caption from the New York Bureau, crediting ACME / War Department (W.D.), and dated May 9, 1943—just as Allied forces were advancing toward final victory in North Africa and preparing for the invasion of Europe.