Experience LIFE's visual record of the 20th century by exploring the most iconic photographs from one of the most famous private photo collections in the world.

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.

The breadth of the GE operations underlines the great variety of activity that legendary LIFE photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt documented when he gained access to the General Electric …

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 …

The warmth between the two men comes through in a photo taken by LIFE’s Francis Miller back in 1963, in which Nicklaus and Palmer shared a laugh. That image of camaraderie is one of …

Half a century later, its humor and message remain prescient, as it plumbs problems that still vex our families and society, and seeks to understand and explain the very soul of America. Here …

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. Actress Gloria …

LIFE recalls the Orient Express of the last century through photographs made in 1950 -- evocative, atmospheric pictures from another time.

What’s even more surprising is the many moods that LIFE photographers were able to achieve when they brought their subjects under—or in most cases, on top of—the covers. The most …

LIFE’s coverage focused on the spectacle, the charity and the famous guests, which included Marilyn Monroe and her husband of nearly a year at that point, playwright Arthur Miller (see …