The Beatles and Muhammad Ali by Unknown Photographer, February 18, 1964. Gelatin silver print; printed 1964
Some of the most iconic front-page news imagery from the 20th century is on display at Howard Greenberg Gallery in New York City. Extra! Extra!: News Photographs from 1903-1975 features more than 60 photographs and draws on a collection of nearly 250 prints assembled by collector Dan Solomon and curator Howard Greenberg. From early aviation to the Civil Rights Movement to the Vietnam War, these images remind us how photojournalism plays a critical role in preserving history.
While many of the photographers are unknown, the exhibition also includes work by acclaimed photojournalists like Robert Capa. As one can imagine, some of the most familiar faces of the 20th century are included in the photographs. Muhammad Ali, Amelia Earhart, John F. Kennedy Jr., Martin Luther King Jr., Babe Ruth, and Patty Hearst are just some of the major newsmakers included in the exhibition.
The exhibition offers a fascinating opportunity to not only enjoy this photography, but to see how the prints moved in the newsroom. On the back, stamps, notations, and clippings weave a story of the image that is often overlooked. These first-run prints were often collected directly from newspapers as they began digitizing their collections, including The New York Times, Time-Life, The San Francisco Examiner, and The Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Visitors will see photojournalism in action by being able to view information that includes not only the original publication date and caption but also editorial comments and considerations. For Solomon, who was first drawn to the shocking 1963 image of a self-immolating monk in Saigon by Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Malcolm Browne, these images are more than photographs.
“The print had a presence and the aura of a powerful object connected to history and the dissemination of information. I immediately asked how I could see more,” he recalls.
A must-see show for any lover of photography and history, Extra! Extra!: News Photographs from 1903-1975 is on view until November 16, 2024 at New York City's Howard Greenberg Gallery.
Extra! Extra!: News Photographs from 1903-1975 is a must-see show for any lover of photojournalism.
Amelia Earhart by Amelia Earhart, 1928. Gelatin silver print; printed 1928
The Loneliest Job, President John F. Kennedy in his White House office by George Tames, 1961. Gelatin silver print; printed 1962
Sigmund Freud in Paris with U.S. Ambassador Wilson C. Bullitt and Marie Bonaparte by Unknown Photographer, June 5, 1938. Gelatin silver print; printed c.1955
Mrs. Lloyd George, a suffragette, arrested for shouting, “I represent Tippeary” by Unknown Photographer, c.1913. Early gelatin silver print
It features some of the most iconic front-page news imagery from the 20th century.
Lee Harvey Oswald, accused assassin of President Kennedy, shot by Jack Rudy in Dallas police headquarters by Robert H. Jackson, November 24, 1963. Gelatin silver print; printed 1966
Nguyen Ngoc Loan, the national police chief of South Vietnam, executed a Viet Cong fighter, Nguyen Van Lem, in Saigon by Eddie Adams, February 1, 1968. Gelatin silver print; printed 1969
Patricia Hearst posing while with Symbionese Liberation Army by Unknown Photographer,
April 3, 1974. Gelatin silver print; printed 1974
Collected directly from established publications, each image has a back side rich with notations and editorial considerations.
Sigmund Freud in Paris with U.S. Ambassador Wilson C. Bullitt and Marie Bonaparte by Unknown Photographer, 1938 (verso)
The Loneliest Job, President John F. Kennedy in his White House office by George Tames, 1961 (verso).
Patricia Hearst posing while with Symbionese Liberation Army by Unknown Photographer, April 3, 1974. (Verso)
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My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Howard Greenberg Gallery.
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