Ed Clark (July 3, 1911,
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
– January 22, 2000,
Sarasota
Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
) was a photographer who worked primarily for ''
Life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
'' magazine. His best remembered work captured a weeping
Graham W. Jackson Sr. Graham Washington Jackson Sr. (February 22, 1903 - January 15, 1983) was an American theatre organist, pianist, accordionist, and choral conductor. He was the subject of a ''Life'' magazine photograph taken at the departure of Franklin D. Roosevel ...
playing his
accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
as the body of the recently deceased President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
was being transported to
Washington, DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
.
The ''Nashville Tennessean''
Clark dropped out of Hume-Fogg High School after he told the editor of the ''
Nashville Tennessean
''The Tennessean'' (known until 1972 as ''The Nashville Tennessean'') is a daily newspaper in Nashville, Tennessee. Its circulation area covers 39 counties in Middle Tennessee and eight counties in southern Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett, w ...
'' newspaper he was a photographer and got a job as an assistant.
"I lied," he later admitted.
He recalled that "Covering a parade once, I used too much
flash powder
Flash powder is a pyrotechnic composition, a mixture of oxidizer and metallic fuel, which burns quickly and produces a loud noise regardless of confinement. It is widely used in theatrical pyrotechnics and fireworks (namely salutes, e.g., cherry ...
and nearly blew myself off the roof".
[ However, he learned quickly and was promoted to staff photographer, a position he held for 13 years.][
]
''Life'' magazine
His work came to the notice of ''Life'', which made him a stringer
Stringer may refer to:
Structural elements
* Stringer (aircraft), or longeron, a strip of wood or metal to which the skin of an aircraft is fastened
* Stringer (slag), an inclusion, possibly leading to a defect, in cast metal
* Stringer (stairs), ...
in 1936. A 1942 photograph of World War I hero Alvin York
Alvin Cullum York (December 13, 1887 – September 2, 1964), also known as Sergeant York, was one of the most decorated United States Army soldiers of World War I. He received the Medal of Honor for leading an attack on a German machine ...
registering for "The Old Man's Draft
The Old Man's Draft or Old Man's Registration is the colloquial term for the fourth Selective Service registration sequence held in the United States during World War II, in April 1942.
History
The first peacetime conscription in American history ...
" brought a job offer, but he turned it down; "I was raising two young boys, and New York didn't seem like the place to raise them," he later explained.[ However, he changed his mind, becoming a staff photographer in 1944, after ''Life'' allowed him to remain in Tennessee for a few years.]
Graham Jackson photograph
When he received a telephone call informing him that President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
had died, he drove all night from his home in Nashville to Warm Springs, Georgia
Warm Springs is a city in Meriwether County, Georgia, United States. The population was 425 at the 2010 census.
History
Warm Springs, originally named Bullochville (after the Bulloch family, which began after Stephen Bullock moved to Meriwether ...
.[ As the President's body was being taken to the train station, Clark, alone among the swarm of photographers present, noticed ]United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
bandsman Graham W. Jackson Sr. Graham Washington Jackson Sr. (February 22, 1903 - January 15, 1983) was an American theatre organist, pianist, accordionist, and choral conductor. He was the subject of a ''Life'' magazine photograph taken at the departure of Franklin D. Roosevel ...
playing "Goin' Home", one of Roosevelt's favorite tunes, on his accordion as tears ran down his face.[ Jackson later recalled, "The photographer stumbled over my foot and looked up. He saw my face and saw those tears coming down my cheek, and he just reached around on his shoulder and got one of his cameras and - blip - and thought no more of it." The iconic photograph was published full page in the April 17, 1945, issue of ''Life'', capturing the nation's grief.
]
Post-war
In 1945, he was temporarily assigned to the Paris offices. At the Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II.
Between 1939 and 1945 ...
, Clark photographed Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
.[
In 1948, a series of photographs documented the gross inequality in educational resources allocated to white versus black children in the ]West Memphis School District
West Memphis School District is a public school district that is headquartered in West Memphis, Arkansas, United States, covering sections of Crittenden and St. Francis counties. It serves most of West Memphis, the municipalities of Anthonyvi ...
of Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
; a single teacher had 100 black students, crammed into a single classroom. The ''Life'' story led to the construction of a new building for them.[
That same year, Clark was assigned to the ]Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
bureau, where he became acquainted with Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
stars. He was the only photographer invited to the wedding reception of Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart (; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American film and stage actor. His performances in Classical Hollywood cinema films made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film In ...
and Lauren Bacall
Lauren Bacall (; born Betty Joan Perske; September 16, 1924 – August 12, 2014) was an American actress. She was named the 20th-greatest female star of classic Hollywood cinema by the American Film Institute and received an Academy Honorary Aw ...
.[ Around 1950, a friend told him of a "hot tomato" who had just signed with ]Twentieth Century-Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...
. He took a series of pictures of a then unknown Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
which were not published at the time; much later, they came to light during a search of ''Life''s archives.
He was also in the good graces of presidents. He took a portrait of Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
using a Mathew Brady
Mathew B. Brady ( – January 15, 1896) was one of the earliest photographers in American history. Best known for his scenes of the American Civil War, Civil War, he studied under inventor Samuel Morse, who pioneered the daguerreotype technique ...
camera. On Eisenhower's last day as President, Clark was the only photographer permitted in the Oval Office
The Oval Office is the formal working space of the President of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is located in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C.
The oval-shaped room ...
.[ Another memorable photo showed then Senator ]John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
spending time with his baby daughter Caroline
Caroline may refer to:
People
* Caroline (given name), a feminine given name
* J. C. Caroline (born 1933), American college and National Football League player
* Jordan Caroline (born 1996), American (men's) basketball player
Places Antarctica
* ...
. The Kennedys were so pleased with the result that it hung in the Oval Office after he was elected, and Jackie Kennedy
Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A pop ...
asked for 75 copies.[
In 1955, Clark received an unexpected invitation from the ]Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. He became the first Western photographer allowed behind the Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...
in 30 years.[ The same year, ]Edward Steichen
Edward Jean Steichen (March 27, 1879 – March 25, 1973) was a Luxembourgish American photographer, painter, and curator, renowned as one of the most prolific and influential figures in the history of photography.
Steichen was credited with tr ...
included his work in MoMA
Moma may refer to:
People
* Moma Clarke (1869–1958), British journalist
* Moma Marković (1912–1992), Serbian politician
* Momčilo Rajin (born 1954), Serbian art and music critic, theorist and historian, artist and publisher
Places
; Ang ...
's blockbuster, world-touring The Family of Man
''The Family of Man'' was an ambitious exhibition of 503 photography, photographs from 68 countries curated by Edward Steichen, the director of the New York City Museum of Modern Art's (MoMA) Department of Photography. According to Steichen, ...
exhibition, seen by more than nine million people.
Due to budgetary cutbacks, ''Life'' let go a third of its photographic staff in 1963, Ed Clark among them. By then, his vision had become impaired due to a cataract
A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble w ...
.[
]
Later life
He became a building contractor in Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...
[ or Washington.]
In 1982, a doctor removed his cataract and implanted a new lens, restoring his vision.[ With his eyesight restored, he took pictures for publications such as the '' Washingtonian'' and the '']Ladies Home Journal
''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...
''.[
In 1990, he was awarded the ]Photographic Society of America
The Photographic Society of America (PSA) is one of the largest, non-profit organizations of its kind. Established in 1934, it has expanded to include members of over 60 countries.
The mission of this association is to promote and enhance the ar ...
's Understanding Through Photography Award.[
He took some courses on modern methods of black-and-white and color printing at Nashville State Tech. He later donated his collection to that institution.][
Ed Clark and his wife Joyce moved to Sarasota, Florida. He died there on January 22, 2000, at the age of 88. His first wife, Garnet, predeceased him.][ He was survived by Joyce, his son Tom (from his first marriage), two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.][
]
References
External links
''Time'' magazine article about Clark's photograph of Graham Jackson
including the photo
''Life'' magazine article "The Photography of Edward Clark"
including photos of Clark, John F. Kennedy/Caroline Kennedy and Graham Jackson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Ed
1911 births
2000 deaths
20th-century American photographers
Life (magazine) photojournalists
People from Nashville, Tennessee