Biographical Note
Lieutenant Commander Maurice Constant of the USNR was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 4, 1895. In civilian life, Constant was a portrait photographer, capturing the likenesses of prominent figures in the arts, sciences, and government, including the Supreme Court Justices.
Prior to the creation of this set of photographs, Constant was commissioned in 1938 by Franklin D. Roosevelt to photograph members of his cabinet. Many of these photographs are incorporated into the Franklin D. Roosevelt Hyde Park Library archives. By 1942, Constant was commissioned as a Navy Officer and documentary photographer for the US Navy Archives in the Bureau of Personnel. Constant was tasked with photographing prominent navy flag officers and army leaders from the War Department as part of an effort to document United States military leadership during World War II. The Navy set up a Documentary Photography unit in "BuPers", or the Bureau of Naval Personnel as part of this effort. Constant reportedly traveled the globe three times between 1942 and 1945 to photograph other prominent allied leaders in Europe and China, and continued serving as a military photographer through the Korean War from 1950-1953.
In recognition of this work, Constant earned a letter of commendation from the Secretary of the Navy, and received a commendation from the Air Force in 1957. Constant died on September 17, 1968 in East Farmingdale, New York.