UPDATE: AIPAD PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW OPENS; MONROE GALLERY IN NEW YORK TIMES REVIEW

The 30th annual Association of International Photography Art Dealers Photography Show is now open, through Sunday, March 21. The show is at the Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue (between 66th and 67th Streets).

Friday's New York Times has a review of the show mentioning Eddie Adams iconic Street Execution of a Viet Cong Prisoner, shown in a very rare sequence of three prints. Also on exhibit at Monroe Gallery is the shocking burned master print of Robert F. Kennedy's assassination, as shown in this blog.


We have welcomed many of our esteemed photographers to our booth, # 317. Here are just a few highlights, we hope to see you Sunday - John Dominis will be among our guests.

 

Woodstock Reunion: Bill Eppridge and Elliott Landy

Alyssa Adams, widow of Eddie Adams, Adrienne Arrichio, and Bill Eppridge

Dorothy and Guy Gillette

Ken Regan and Bill Eppridge

MONROE GALLERY AT THE AIPAD PHOTOGRAPHY SHOW BOOTH #317

Monroe Gallery of Photography will be exhibiting at the AIPAD Photography Show March 18 - 21. Watch this blog for updates!

The longest running and one of the most important international photography events in the world, The AIPAD Photography Show will be presented by the Association of International Photography Art Dealers (AIPAD) at the Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Avenue (between 66th and 67th Streets).

More than 70 of the world's leading fine art photography galleries will present a wide range of museum-quality work including contemporary, modern and 19th century photographs, as well as photo-based art, video and new media, at the Park Avenue Amory in New York City. Monroe Gallery is located in Booth # 317, near the Cafe.

We will be exhibiting specially selected work from the gallery's collection of 20th and 21st Century masters, including the premiere of new work by Stephen Wilkes, and the first showing of the original master vintage print of Bill Eppridge's iconic image of busboy Juan Romero trying to comfort Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy after assassination attempt on June 5, 1968. Throughout the show we are honored that several of our photographers will be present in our booth, including Alyssa Adams, widow of the late Eddie Adams, Bill Eppridge, John Dominis,  John Filo, Guy Gillette (who is profiled in the current issue of Black & White magazine), John Loengard, Brian Hamill, Ken Regan, Steve Schapiro, Stephen Wilkes, and Barbara Villet, widow of the late Grey Villet. (We will present Grey Villet's work for the first time ever.)

The 30th edition of The AIPAD Photography Show New York will open with a Gala Preview on March 17 to benefit the John Szarkowski Fund, an endowment for photography acquisitions at The Museum of Modern Art in New York City (call 212-708-9680 for further information). Additional special events, seminars, and lectures are scheduled for Saturday, March 20 and Sunday, March 21, including "A Conversation with Members of the Photo League" with Monroe Gallery photographers Vivian Cherry and Ida Wyman.

We look forward to seeing you at the exhibition!


Show Hours:

Thursday, March 18 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Friday, March 19 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 20 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 21 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

The Park Avenue Armory 643 Park Avenue (between 66th and 67th Streets)

RENOWNED CIVIL RIGHTS PHOTOGRAPHER CHARLES MOORE HAS DIED

http://monroegallery.blogspot.com/2010/03/monroe-gallery-at-aipad-photography.htmlBy Michelle Rupe Eubanks

Staff Writer
Copyright THE TIMES DAILY

 Saturday, March 13, 2010 at 3:30 a.m.

Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Charles Moore died Thursday at his home near West Palm Beach, Fla.

He was 79.

Moore was born in Hackelburg and rose to fame in the 1950s and 1960s as a result of his almost accidental career as a photojournalist.

As the lone photographer on the scene at Martin Luther King Jr.'s arrest in 1958, he captured the violence and emotion inherent in the scene. In the years that followed, Moore would take some of the most enduring shots of the Civil Rights Movement: the Selma march, the riots at Ole Miss and the tragedy of the hoses and dogs turned on those in Kelly Ingram Park in Birmingham.

For much of his career, he worked for Life magazine.

Shannon Wells, the photographer at the University of North Alabama who worked with Moore throughout her career, said his influence on photography will not soon be forgotten.

Moore was often in Florence to share his work and expertise.

"What can you say? He was an icon," she said. "He always took the time to teach and mentor other photographers, especially young photographers. He always wanted to share his career."

In 1991, a chronological collection of his photographs as well as his biography was printed as "Powerful Days: The Civil Rights Photography of Charles Moore."

Andrew Young, who wrote the introduction to the book, said the Moore's photographs are the legacy of what those who lived through the Civil Rights Movement endured in order to find equality.

"Many of us were treated like rats, even during the most daunting days of the movement, as Moore's photographs of the fire hose attacks in Birmingham's Kelly Ingram park graphically illustrate," he writes. "All of us must hope and pray that the lessons learned and the lives lost during the first years of the movement will be remembered and honored to infinity."

A memorial service for Moore is planned for later this year.

Monroe Gallery of Photography will exhibit several of Charles Moore's photographs during the AIPAD Photography Show March 18 - 21.

ART OF SOUND EXHIBIT REVIEW IN THE SANTA FE REPORTER

The Sound of Silence



Monroe Gallery’s photo show makes a real racket

By John Photos
March 10, 2010
©The Santa Fe Reporter

Mick Rock: David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, The Dorchester, London, 1972

As I stood in front of a 1972 photograph of David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Lou Reed arm-in-arm, I wondered if I was able to accurately assess the image. Had the photographer captured something special with brilliant timing and just the right amount of coaxing? Or was I drawn to Bowie’s piercing eyes, Reed’s impossible hipness and Mr. Pop’s bared teeth clutching a pack of Lucky Strikes?


In other words, was this an iconic image or just an image of icons?

If one wanted to criticize Monroe Gallery’s The Art of Sound, it might be on the grounds that some of the pictures are noteworthy only for whom they depict—fame by association. Nevertheless, as a lover of photography and classic rock, I had a blast.

Celebrity portraiture is a tricky proposition. To be totally effective, it often requires that the viewer have a priori knowledge of its subject. But this is exactly why the show is so fun. Done well, the photographs themselves become inseparable from the celebrities within them; the photographs become part of celebrities’ images, freezing something about them that stands in for the truth. Whether the photographs help create the vibe or just a record of it, they bring to mind sounds and stories of their subjects.

One close-up shows Louis Armstrong’s fingers as he smears balm across his ample, voluminous lips. Immediately I could imagine the bright, clear attack of his powerful horn. Another standout is a grid of images that show Jimi Hendrix performing live. Each shot is composed the same, from the waist up, but Hendrix’s guitar face moves from the meditative to the orgasmic, and it is impossible not to hear the virtuosic roar and flutter of his incomparable solos.

The exhibit teeter-totters between documentary and formal portraiture, and there are masterpieces of both. “Hullabaloo with Chuck Berry, New York” shows the bizarre set of the televised music program, replete with go-go dancers, men in matching referee jerseys and a seated audience in heavy horn-rimmed glasses. Squished into the lower left corner, Berry is hardly in the picture at all.

A portrait of Igor Stravinsky is obviously posed, much quieter, but no less stunning. The photographer, Arnold Newman, also placed his subject in the lower left. The remainder of the composition is filled with the stark geometry of a lifted piano lid. From across the room, the image resembles a black-on-white modernist painting more than a photograph.

Some of the images border on the absurd, as in the one of Mick Jagger as he sashays past the camera in a top hat and spandex. Then there’s the deeply silly Jim Morrison posed in front of a lava-lamp-like backdrop, his wild eyes and wild mane outdone only by his wild snakeskin suit. (No wonder he called himself the Lizard King…)

Another enjoyable aspect is the apparent duality of the photographer and the camera. The images may seem reverential or composed in a flattering way, but the camera is still a faithful, if dispassionate, surveillance tool, catching the details that nowadays would be airbrushed into oblivion. I was surprised to note Elvis’ blackheads or the stubbly underarms of The Supremes. But this only reinforces the sense of immediacy, the proof that these are real people—a fact remarked upon with disgust and bewilderment by present-day tabloids that show stars without make-up or with embarrassing beach bodies.

On my way out, I complimented the gallerist. He said, “There’s something for everyone.”

I don’t think that’s quite right. There’s actually a pretty narrow focus to the work, which is primarily from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. But if you like that era, The Art of Sound does a great job of touching on some of the biggest acts in music before video killed the photography star.


The exhibition continues through April 11.

MONROE GALLERY OF PHOTOGRAPHY

112 Don Gaspar
Santa Fe, NM 87501
505.992.0800
info@monroegallery.com
http://www.monroegallery.com/

Follow Us: http://twitter.com/Monroegallery

JOE McNALLY IN SANTA FE TO CONDUCT TWO WORKSHOPS

Joe McNally climbs to the top of the Empire State Buildingto get "the ultimate light bulb changing shot" for the National Geographic story "The Power of Light"

We are very pleased to welcome Joe McNally back to Santa Fe for two weeks. Joe is leading the Digital Landscape Workshop Series in Santa Fe March 7 - 10, and the Location Photography and Lighting workshop March 10 - 4 at the Santa Fe Workshop. Both are sold out!

Here are the details, book now for next year!

DLWS is heading to what seems like Joe's 2nd home for a great week of fun and killer photography. We have the SouthWest as our subject with vast landscapes and old spanish style architecture. As a special treat, we'll be shooting at the old, historic and infamous prison one morning and one evening. And you just never know what other special surprises we have in store. We're been planning this one for some time so we are really excited for to smack some chilies and see that romantic sunset. We're staying at the very romantic, pictursque Bishop's Lodge where we've secured a killer rate for our participants. We can easily see this becoming one of our favorite locales!


Much of what professional photographers are called on to do is done on location, including scouting a location, using existing and artificial light creatively, and dealing with physical space. The Digital Landscape Workshop, designed for experienced photographers who want to become more proficient in the use of light in the field, is about learning how to size up a location and find the best angles and light for the assignment. "We look at the use of natural and artificial light, including reflectors and large strobes as well as small flashes, to photograph both exterior and interior portraits, large and small spaces, street scenes, and people in all types of situations and locales. Emphasis is placed on how to “write” with light and how to use lighting techniques to shape the mood and color of a photograph. We explore color temperature, ways of working with natural light and strobe, and how to mix the two effectively."


Joe discusses lighting issues that arise in the field when using small, on-camera speedlights as well as the issues of huge productions involving larger studio strobes. He also covers gaining access to locations, methods for covering magazine assignments, and blending a variety of techniques and approaches. Working in the studio and on location, we photograph specific assignments with critiques the following morning. Also discussed is the simple fact that where you put the camera is much more important than where you put the light. It all goes together—a point of view at the lens, and command of the language of light to articulate that point of view. By the end of the week, participants have confidence in their ability to use light and lighting systems in a variety of conditions.

By sheer coincidence, Joe's photographs "A Great Day in Jazz" and a 2006 portrait of Tony Bennett are featured in the current Art of Sound exhibition.

Joe has two best-selling photography books out now, The Moment it Clicks and The Hot Shoe Diaries.

Joe McNally, an internationally acclaimed photographer and photojournalist, was LIFE magazine’s staff photographer from 1994 to 1998. His best-known series is “Faces of Ground Zero: Portraits of the Heroes of September 11th.”


Joe is a 25-year contributor to National Geographic. As part of the World Expo 2005, he created a photo diary of the New York City Opera’s historic first tour to Japan. Joe’s work has won numerous awards and appeared in a variety of publications, including The New York Times Magazine, National Geographic, Newsweek, ESPN The Magazine, Men’s Journal, LIFE, and Fast Company. His advertising and marketing clients include Nikon, Sony, Lands’ End, MetLife, Lifetime, AGA Marketing, Wildlife Conservation Society, American Ballet Theatre, and FedEx.

MARK SHAW PHOTOGRAPHS FEATURED IN ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST AND ELLE DECOR MAGAZINES

A Dior gown photographed for LIFE in 1960 in the 17th century home of Suzanne Luling, then directrice of Dior

Following the major Retrospective exhibition held at Monroe Gallery of Photography April 24 - June 28, 2009, there has been a strong resurgence of interest in and appreciation of the photography of Mark Shaw.

Most recently, Shaw's photographs were featured in the March, 2010 issue of ELLE magazine, following an article in the February 2010 issue of Architectural Digest including his photographs.

Mark Shaw lived from 1922-1969. As a photographer he is perhaps best known for his images of Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy and their family which he originally photographed on assignment for LIFE magazine, and later as their family photographer. He developed a strong friendship with JFK and Jackie while Kennedy was still a Junior Senator, and regularly visited the White House during their time there documenting the private glamour of America's Camelot. After JFK's death a selection of photographs were published in the book "The John F. Kennedy's - A family album". This book sold over 200,000 copies when it was first published, very impressive even today. Mark Shaw’s images of the Kennedys were widely used in the exhibition “Jacqueline Kennedy – The White House Years”, originating at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and later traveled around the country.


Also a leading fashion photographer, Mark Shaw worked for Harper's Bazaar, Mademoiselle, and a host of other fashion magazines. He started working for LIFE magazine in 1952 and in 16 years shot 27 covers and almost 100 stories. Throughout the 1950's and 1960s' Mark Shaw shot the European fashion collections for LIFE, and was one of the first photographers to shoot fashion on the runways and "backstage" at the couture shows. Decades after his death, Mark Shaw’s photographs continue to be published regularly in books and magazines.



Read a review of the Retrospective exhibition here.

Listen to a radio inteview with Michelle Monroe about Mark Shaw and the gallery's focus on photojournalism here.


MONROE GALLERY OF PHOTOGRAPHY

112 Don Gaspar
Santa Fe, NM 87501
505.992.0800
505.992.0810 (fax)
info@monroegallery.com

http://www.monroegallery.com/

A DAY IN THE LIFE

Bill Eppridge: Beatles Press Conference, 1964

Photos of the Fab Four's first visit to North America show the lads at their cheeky best

 
(C) The Winninpeg Free Press
By: Alison Mayes
 
On Feb. 7, 1964, a contract photographer for LIFE magazine was assigned to capture the arrival in North America of four mop-topped lads from Liverpool.


Bill Eppridge was only 25 years old, but already an experienced photojournalist. He and the other photographers who waited for the Beatles' plane to land in New York assumed the band would be "a crew of weirdos" -- likely dishevelled drug addicts.

Everybody was waiting to have a good laugh," Eppridge, now 71, recalls by phone from his home in Connecticut.


"Then the door of the plane opened, and out come these four young gentlemen in dark suits and ties, so neatly dressed you couldn't believe it... It surprised the hell out of all of us."

Eppridge, who would go on to capture some of most iconic images of the troubled 1960s, spent several days shooting the witty, carefree John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr -- and the mounting Beatlemania that surrounded them -- as they toured Central Park, hung out in their suite at the Plaza Hotel, gave their five-song debut performance on the Ed Sullivan Show on Feb. 9, rode a train to Washington, D.C. and performed at the Washington Coliseum.

CBS staff photographers also documented the band's every move, continuing as the quartet -- aged 20 to 23 -- frolicked in Miami Beach, Fla., and made their second Ed Sullivan appearance there on Feb. 16, live from the Deauville Hotel.

The week that revolutionized pop music is recalled in The Beatles! Backstage and Behind the Scenes, a touring, Florida-based exhibition of 84 never-before-published black-and-white photos. The show opened Friday at the Manitoba Museum and runs to April 11.

It features 38 of Eppridge's images and 46 from the CBS archives, displayed on walls painted red, white and blue to evoke the Union Jack. The museum has set up a mock-1960s living room with a vintage TV to bring back memories of the historic Sullivan broadcasts.

The show reflects the museum's recent commitment to bring in high-profile exhibitions that "show the world to Manitobans," such as the Dinosaur Dynasty and Robots + Us shows, which attracted about 18,000 and 12,500 visitors respectively.

Eppridge estimates that he shot more than 2,000 frames of the Beatles. LIFE published only three or four. The unused shots were stored in LIFE's archives, then reverted to Eppridge when the magazine folded. He hadn't looked at them in years, he says, when the exhibition curators (including his friend John Filo, who shot the Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of the Kent State massacre) asked him to select some for this 2001 show.

The distinguished Eppridge was later behind the lens at Woodstock and in Vietnam. He covered the funeral of civil-rights activist James Chaney in Mississippi, shot a landmark photo essay on heroin addiction in Needle Park, and took the iconic photo of a busboy cradling Robert Kennedy seconds after he was fatally shot.

By comparison, he says, the Beatles images bring back an innocent, joyful moment in U.S. history. The Fab Four were not the least bit jaded as they gamely posed in matchy-matchy outfits -- even goofy deck shoes and short terrycloth beach robes.

"It was totally delightful," remembers Eppridge, who never met any of the four again. "They were enjoying the ride. I never heard a complaint. I found them generally unaware of their importance.

"They were truly funny, like four comedians. They were really tight, mentally."

The lads are seen clowning on the train, with Harrison borrowing a porter's uniform and serving drinks. "It was genuine," says Eppridge. "They decided it was going to be fun."

The photographer remembers being jolted by the freshness of the band's sound. "When I'm working, I use one sense: my eyes. To get me out of that mode is difficult. But at times, their music took me right out of that."

In a few photos Lennon wears sunglasses and a dark cap -- perhaps a hint that he would rebel against the group's wholesome, uniform image. Eppridge says he didn't pick up on any rebellion. But he felt Lennon had a greater presence than the others. "Lennon seemed to be bigger... He just seemed to have more enormity to him."

Eppridge says he recognized that the Beatles were going to be fashion icons. One of his photos is a closeup of three pairs of feet in the pointy-toed boots that started a craze.

"I was trying like hell to get four pair in one picture, and I couldn't... because one of them was not feeling well," he says. (Harrison is missing from some of the New York photos because he was resting up with a sore throat.)

Eppridge and LIFE reporter Gail Cameron got their own taste of Beatlemania when they emerged after dark from the Plaza Hotel. Four teenage girls accosted them and asked if they had met the Beatles. When Cameron said yes, the girls inquired whether the lads had signed autographs. The reporter made the mistake of saying that they had actually used her pencil. Then all hell broke loose.

"Those four jumped her so fast!" says the photographer, chuckling. "They knocked her down, trying to get that pencil. I had to toss a couple of them off of her. I grabbed Gail and we took off running down the street."


The Beatles! Backstage and Behind the Scenes

Manitoba Museum, to April 11
190 Rupert Avenue, Winnipeg, MB R3B 0N2, Canada

(204) 956-2830
Beatles show only, $5 (youth/senior/ student $3, family $16)
Ticket price discounted when added to museum, planetarium or science gallery admission

View Bill Eppridge's Beatles collection here. View the current exhibition of photographs of musicians, "The Art of Sound", here.

Bill Eppridge will be the subject of a major retrospective exhibition at Monroe Gallery July 2 - September 26, 2010. His historic Robert Kennedy and James Chaney Funeral photographs will also be on view during the AIPAD Photography Show in New York in Monroe Gallery, Booth # 317.

GUY GILLETTE FEATURED IN BLACK & WHITE MAGAZINE: "He is an enormous contributor to photographic history"

Issue 73
March, 2010

Guy Gillette loves a story, and he has collected plenty of them in his 86 years. A photojournalist for over half a century, Gillette's work has taken him around the world photographing news, culture, celebrity, and daily life. Gillette is a people person, and he relishes the tales behind the pictures, the rich back-story to a life in photography, such as the time he captured camera-shy Henri Cartier-Bresson, and the photographer admonished him" "Photographers NEVER photograph photographers!" U. S. Camera found the photograph charming enough to run it full-page in a feature on Gillette's work.

Born in Minnesota, Gillette had a brief flirtation with photography as a boy, but decided in high school to become an actor. After an apprenticeship at the Berkshire Playhouse in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, he moved to New York City, attending the Chekhov Actors Studio on a scholarship. He met his wife, Doris, while moonlighting in a restaurant. Gillette finally got a part in the Broadway comedy "Junior Miss" but his budding stage career was not meant to be. The year was 1942. There was a war on, and barely three months into the part Gillette was drafted and sent to Ft. Dix to train as an army combat medic. When, after eight months, it was discovered that he had vision problems, he was given an honorable discharge and headed back to Manhattan, and for a while, resumed his acting career, appearing in a play under the direction of Antoinette Perry.

Photography reentered Gillette's life when a magazine editor who had seen his photographs of Texas offered him an assignment. Gillette didn't miss a beat, borrowed money to buy a camera, and pleased with the results, resolved to become a professional photographer. He studied with Sid Grossman of the Photo League for two years. Soon he was working for magazines such as Fortune, Life, Harper Bazaar, Theater Arts, and This week, where his images appeared on countless covers.

Gillette's love of the grease-paint and simpatico with actors combined with his photographic skills to make him a formidable shooter of the arts scene. He created intimate portraits of actors, directors, producers, and writers, such as Charlie Chaplin, Audrey Hepburn, Sarah Vaughn, and events such as the gala opening night of Lincoln Center with backstage images of a triumphant Leonard Bernstein greeting well wishers. Gillette acknowledges his instinct for the theater has a positive impact on his photography. "Because of the moment," he says. "You are always building to some kind of moment as an actor. In photography, there was a moment when someone would do something or have a certain expression that I would say "That's it!'".

Although he never saw action during World War II, Gillette spent three months at the front during the Korean War shooting stories for the Red Cross: troops in combat, a Navy hospital ship, and an Army MASH unit. His Korean work received much acclaim, including the Missouri's School of Journalism award for best picture story. Edward Steichen likes the work so much he wrote a letter to the Red Cross praising it. This was not the first time Steichen had noticed Gillette's work. Two of Gillette's photographs - "Texas Family", a portrait of three generations of Doris' family on a porch swing, and one of his two sons "Playing Train" - were featured prominently in the landmark exhibition Family of Man at the Museum of Modern Art, and the accompanying book. Both Texas and family have figured prominently in Gillette's work, and his frequent visits there became photographic explorations that provided him a rich counterpoint to his New York images.

He later moved from editorial to commercial work, which often sent him as far away as Asia, Europe, and Australia. No stranger to politics, he photographed the Civil Rights movement and March on Washington to the anti-Vietnam War demonstrations in the Sixties, and his portfolio boasts many political figures of the day, from Queen Elizabeth II to President Eisenhower.

Gillette has won many awards for both is editorial and commercial work and has had several solo exhibitions in the U. S. and Europe, including a recent retrospective at the Hudson River Museum in 2006. His photographs are held in both public and private collections. He has one book, a children's book, Simpson.

People have always been at the center of Gillette's photography, whether a lovely shot of three girls on an Atlanta street or a young nurse cradling a soldier's head in Korea. He is an enormous contributor to photographic history. All the world is Gillette's stage, and he has had great fun recounting the players and their stories.

--Shawn O'Sullivan
©Black & White Magazine

Print Information:
Gelatin silver prints, 11 x 14 and 16 x 20 inches. $900 - $2,000.

Contact Information:
MONROE GALLERY OF PHOTOGRAPHY

112 Don Gaspar
Santa Fe, NM 87501
505.992.0800
505.992.0810 (fax)
info@monroegallery.com
http://www.monroegallery.com/

Follow Us: http://twitter.com/Monroegallery

Arnold's Cafe, Lovelady, Texas, 1956

Ojibway girl gathering rice, Northern Minnesota, 1958

Morning salute to the Flag, Vacation bible school, Antioch, Texas, 1955

Rainy day in Fredricksburg, Virginia, 1948

New friend, old church, Staten Island, New York, 1949

Dutch girl, Staten Island, New York, 1961

See more of Guy Gillette's photography here.

SOME OF OUR FAVORITES FOR VALENTINE'S DAY

Happy Valentine's Day!

Robert Doisneau: Le Baiser de l'Hotel de Ville, Paris, 1950

Harry Benson: Berlin Kiss, Berlin, 1996

Ernst Haas:  The Kiss, Grand Central Station, NYC

Ted Allen: Jean Harlow and Robert Taylor, 1937

Mick Rock: Lou Reed and David Bowie, Cafe Royal, London, 1973

Willy Ronis: Les Amoureux de la Colonne Bastille, 1957

Carl Iwasaki: Kissing In The Kitchen

Steve Schapiro: "I Love Anybody", Migrant Camp, Arkansas, 1961

A PULITZER-PRIZE PHOTO THAT ALMOST WASN'T: THE STORY OF "THE SOILING OF OLD GLORY"

News Photographer Magazine
January, 2010

By Stanley J. Forman

Boston, MA

April 5, 1976, was during the second year of forced busing in Boston. It was a Monday and I reported to work for my 9-5 shift early, as usual, and when I arrived in the City Room I asked city editor Al Salie what was doing. He said there was an anti-busing demonstration at City Hall and Gino (Gene Dixon) was covering it. Although it was the second year of busing it was not unusual for the some of the students to walk out of school and hold a demonstration, and it was April and the weather was getting warmer.

I asked if I could go to it and he said yes. I actually did an errand before I got there and parked on the traffic island on Cambridge Street, which is in front of Boston City Hall. In those days I used to drive with my dog Glossy as my passenger, and she got to go to a lot of news stories.

As I walked into City Hall the group of demonstrators was just coming down the steps from the City Hall Council Chambers where City Councilor Louise Day Hicks, an anti-busing proponent, had invited them in for a salute to the flag (along with cookies with milk).

As they spilled out onto the Plaza a few of the demonstrators confronted a group of students from another school in Boston who were their way into City Hall for a tour. Many of those students were black, and some pushing and shoving began.

The Herald American was the first newspaper in Boston to get motor drives and the whole staff got one Nikon F camera body with a motor drive and four lenses: 20mm, 35mm, 135mm, and 200mm. And I bought myself a second Nikon F camera. We had a community lens locker in the office for longer telephotos. That day I was carrying the two Nikon F’s, but I only had the one motor drive for both. They were interchangeable, but I always tried to keep it so that I used a specific camera with the motor drive. I had a 135mm lens on the camera with the motor drive, and a 35mm lens on the other.

As the first scuffle began I switched my 135mm lens to a 20mm lens. I always carried 3 lenses in those days. I started taking photographs and looked over my right shoulder and could see this black man (lawyer Ted Landsmark) walking and he was making the turn onto the Plaza from State and Washington Streets. A bell went off in my head and I thought they were going to get him.

It first looked like the gauntlet from the movie with Clint Eastwood, everyone taking a shot whether it be verbal or throwing stuff, papers, apple cores, whatever they had in their hands, and then a couple of them moved in and started getting physical.

I started taking photographs with the motor drive camera with the 20mm lens on it. I could hear the motor working, but I could also hear the sound of it not transporting the film correctly. Don’t ask me what that sounds like, but I knew what it was. I stopped shooting continuous shots and just pressed the button to shoot just one frame at a time.

Eventually I switched to the camera with the 35mm lens and got off one more shot, which is not on the contact sheet. The victim [Landsmark] was transported to the Mass General Hospital and the demonstrators continued on their way to Post Office Square outside the Federal Court House.

When I got there Joe Driscoll, a reporter from the paper, said to me, “Did you hear what happened at City Hall?” I told him yes, that I had shots of it. He told me to get right into the office as they were all excited about what had happened. To tell you the truth I did not grasp the magnitude of the incident till later in the day.

The Associated Press had transmitted a photograph of the incident but their photographer was not in as good position as I was, and the Globe photographer had the same problem. I had the best shot or shots. I had also arrived later, and the demonstrators came towards me, while the others who had been there earlier were either behind the group or in the middle.

When I got back to the office I developed the film (I think with the Kodak Versamat machine) and everyone thought I was nuts, because sometimes the machine made spaghetti out of the film. But this time it developed just the way it should.

We all noticed the images that ran together because of the motor drive not transporting the film properly, but there were enough images to put a picture story together. The editors were very frightened of the main image. It was a volatile situation, and it was about busing, and it was Boston.

I think the thing that saved them was that Howard Hughes died that day, and they could put something else at the top of the page. I think that appeased them enough that they no longer had the fear of showcasing on the top of page one the racism that rang out that day.

When he was working as a still photographer in Boston, Forman won three Pulitzer Prizes for photography in just four years (1976, 1977, and 1979). Then in 1983 he made the big switch, and he’s been a television photojournalist for Boston’s WCVB-TV ever since. A book detailing the story behind Forman’s second Pulitzer (above) came out in 2008, The Soiling Of Old Glory by Louis P. Masur.