'Images' exhibit features photo icon's work

Bill Eppridge: Bobby Kennedy campaigns in IN during May of 1968, with various aides and friends: former prizefighter Tony Zale and (right of Kennedy) N.F.L. stars Lamar Lundy, Rosey Grier, and Deacon Jones

The Westport News
Friday, April 22, 2011

A retrospective of photojournalist Bill Eppridge's work will headline "Images 2011," the Fairfield Museum and History Center's third annual photography exhibit.


The show opens May 1 and continues through the end of August. A preview party is scheduled April 30.

Eppridge worked for Life magazine in the 1960s and took many of the decade's notable photographs -- the Beatles arriving in the United States for their appearance on the "Ed Sullivan Show," Barbra Streisand in Paris, the Woodstock Festival, the civil rights movement, the 50th anniversary of the Soviet revolution, the Vietnam War and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 presidential candidacy.

Kennedy befriended the photographer during the campaign. One of Eppridge's best-known photos is of busboy Juan Romero cradling the fatally wounded candidate in the seconds after he was shot in the kitchen of a Los Angeles restaurant after the California primary.

In addition to Eppridge's photos, the museum said, "Images 2011" will include a juried exhibit of more than 50 photographs by professional, amateur and student photographers from the region.

The juried show attracted entries from about 400 photographers from Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts and Rhode Island. A panel of six photographers, including Eppridge, selected works in six categories for exhibit.

The museum has also developed a range of related programs in conjunction with the exhibition. These programs, focusing on the challenges, rewards and ethics of visually documenting history, news and events, at home and abroad, will be open to members, nonmembers and students.

At the April 30 preview party, guests will have an opportunity to meet Eppridge, a New Milford resident, along with collectors, gallery owners and patrons. Tickets for the reception may be purchased in advance and are priced at $100, 200 and $500. Proceeds from the preview benefit the museum's education programs.

To purchase tickets to the preview party and for information on the exhibit-related programs, call 203-259-1598 or visit the museum's website, http://www.fairfieldhs.org/.


Related: Bill Eppridge: An American Treasure