ABOUT THE EXHIBIT

The Colorado History Museum hosts the largest and most comprehensive exhibition of Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs ever shown in the United States. Capture the Moment THE PULITZER PRIZE PHOTOGRAPHS features nearly 130 winning photographs, color and black and white, representative of instantly recognizable historic moments from around the world, evoking a wide range of emotion in the visitor.

First seen in newspapers, many of these images proved influential in times of crises and stirred the nation to action. Representing a diverse scope of subject matter from brutality to heroism, Capture the Moment includes the winning images from 1942, the year of the first photography award, to the 2004 winners. The iconic images include the 2003 Hayman Fire and 2000 Columbine photographs by the Rocky Mountain News staff and the 1984 Memorial Day photograph by then Denver Post photographer Anthony Suau.

The massive 20-by-30 inch and 30-by-40 inch prints of the winning photographs are organized chronologically in the gallery. The large format pictures, presented without frames or mats, will stop visitors in their tracks and inspire emotional reflection on real events of the past. The photographs will be accompanied by the stories from the photographers themselves, telling their first-hand accounts of capturing the prize-winning images.

Open September 2 at the Colorado History Museum, the exhibition will run through December 12, 2004.

Organized By:

Capture the Moment THE PULITZER PRIZE PHOTOGRAPHS was developed by the NEWSEUM, the interactive museum of news, in association with Business of Entertainment, Inc., of New York, Cyma Rubin, curator. The NEWSEUM, moving to Washington in 2006, is funded by the Freedom Forum – a nonpartisan foundation dedicated to free press, free speech and free spirit for all people.

Contents:
The exhibition features 128 large-format, color and black and white photographs, including the chilling images from Colorado’s Columbine tragedy and Hayman Fire. Note: Some images are graphic and may not be suitable for children.

History of the Pulitzer Prize:
In his will, publisher Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911) established the Pulitzer Prizes for the fields of journalism, literature, music and drama in addition to establishing an advisory board to oversee the Pulitzer Prizes, with Columbia University as the administrator. The Pulitzer Board, which has created and modified award categories, added the Pulitzer Prize for Photography in 1942. In 1968, the board broadened the photography category to include an award for spot or breaking news and feature photography.

First Prize-winning Photograph:
The Picket Line, by Milton Brooks, April 3, 1941, The Detroit News winner of the first Pulitzer Prize for photography in 1942.

Latest Prize-winning Photographs:
2004 Breaking News Photography – Awarded to David Leeson and CherylDiaz Meyer of The Dallas MorningNews for their eloquent photographs depicting both the violence and poignancy of the war with Iraq.

2004 Feature Photography – Awarded to Carolyn Cole ( Boulder, Colo. native) of the Los Angeles Times for her cohesive, behind-the-scenes look at the effects of civil war in Liberia, with special attention to innocent citizens caught in the conflict.

Only Year Not Represented:
In the creation of the awards, Joseph Pulitzer empowered the Pulitzer Board to withhold any award where entries fell below its standards of excellence. In 1946 the board deemed no photography nomination worthy of the award.

Colorado Connections in exhibit:

  • Janet Reeves, director of photography for the Rocky Mountain News, served as chair of the jury that selected both the breaking news and feature photography Pulitzer Prize recipients for 2004 which included a Boulder, Colo. native – Carolyn Cole.
  • The 15-member Rocky Mountain News photo staff was honored with the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for its series of images from the 2002 Hayman Fire – the largest fire in Colorado History.
  • The Rocky Mountain News photo staff earned its first Pulitzer Prize in 2000 for its coverage of the Columbine tragedy, which includes images of anguished students and the makeshift memorial at Clement Park.
  • The Denver Post and former Post photographer, Anthony Suau were honored with the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography for the paper’s Memorial Day issue.
  • Jay Dickman was honored in 1983 for his series portrayal of civil war in El Salvador. Dickman resides in Littleton, Colo. and is a freelance photojournalist.
  • Photojournalist Larry C. Price, currently with the Denver Post, has earned two Pulitzer Prizes for his work – the first in 1981, which appears in the show, for his coverage of the execution of the Liberian regime in Monrovia.
  • Former Associated Press photographer and current Colorado resident, Neal Ulevich, captured “Brutality in Bangkok,” and the 1977 Pulitzer Prize for photography.
  • Colorado resident Robert H. Jackson won the Pulitzer in 1964 for his history-making shot of Jack Ruby killing Lee Harvey Oswald that appeared in the Dallas Times Herald.