.gif)
Eddie Adams (photographer)
Encyclopedia
Eddie Adams was a Pulitzer Prize
-winning American
photographer and photojournalist noted for portraits of celebrities and politicians and his coverage of 13 wars.
during the Korean War
as a combat photographer
. One of his assignments was to photograph the entire Demilitarized Zone
from end to end immediately following the war. This took him over a month to complete.
It was while covering the Vietnam War
for the Associated Press
that he took his best-known photograph – the picture of police chief General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan
executing a Vietcong prisoner, Nguyễn Văn Lém
, on a Saigon street, on February 1, 1968, during the opening stages of the Tet Offensive.
Adams won the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography
and a World Press Photo
award for the photograph (captioned 'General Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing a Viet Cong prisoner in Saigon'), but would later lament its notoriety. Writer and critic David D. Perlmutter
points out that 'no film footage did as much damage as AP
photographer Eddie Adams's 35mm shot taken on a Saigon street ... When people talk or write about [the Tet Offensive] at least a sentence is devoted (often with an illustration) to the Eddie Adams picture'.
Anticipating the impact of Adams's photograph, an attempt at balance was sought by editors in the New York Times. In his memoirs, John G. Morris recalls that;
(Theodore M. Bernstein
), "determined that the brutality manifested by America's ally be put into perspective, agreed to run the Adams picture large, but offset with a picture of a child slain by Vietcong, which conveniently came through from AP
at about the same time".
Nonetheless, it is Adams's photograph that is remembered while the other far less dramatic image was overlooked and soon forgotten.
In Regarding the Pain of Others
, Susan Sontag
is disturbed by what she sees as the staged nature of the photograph. She writes that 'he would not have carried out the summary execution there had [the press] not been available to witness it'. However, Donald Winslow of the New York Times quotes Adams as having described the image as a 'reflex picture' and 'wasn't certain of what he'd photographed until the film was developed'. Furthermore, Winslow notes that Adams 'wanted me to understand that “Saigon Execution” was not his most important picture and that he did not want his obituary to begin, “Eddie Adams, the photographer best known for his iconic Vietnam photograph ‘Saigon Execution’' .
On Nguyen Ngoc Loan and his famous photograph, Adams wrote in Time
:
Adams later apologized in person to General Nguyen and his family for the irreparable damage it did to the General's honor while he was alive. When Nguyen died, Adams praised him as a "hero" of a "just cause". On the television show "War Stories with Oliver North
" Adams called Gen. Nguyen "a goddamned hero!"
He once said, "I would have rather been known more for the series of photographs I shot of 48 Vietnamese refugees who managed to sail to Thailand
in a 30-foot boat, only to be towed back to the open seas by Thai marines." The photographs, and accompanying reports, helped persuade then President Jimmy Carter
to grant the nearly 200,000 Vietnamese boat people
asylum
. He won the Robert Capa Gold Medal
from the Overseas Press Club
in 1977 for this series of photographs in his photo essay, "The Boat of No Smiles" (Published by AP
). Adams remarked, "It did some good and nobody got hurt."
Adams died in New York City
from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Adams's legacy is continued through Barnstorm: The Eddie Adams Workshop, the photography workshop he started in 1988.
He is the subject of a 2009 documentary
feature, An Unlikely Weapon, directed by Susan Morgan Cooper and narrated by Kiefer Sutherland
.
, Brazil
, alternative society, anti-war demonstrations, and riots, as well as his intimate portraits of such high-profile figures as Ronald Reagan
, Fidel Castro
, Malcolm X
, Clint Eastwood
, Bette Davis
, Bill Cosby
, and Jerry Lewis
.
auctioned a special print of Adams's most well-known image, Saigon (General Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing a Viet Cong prisoner Nguyen Van Lém). The oversize silver print image—printed in the 1980s—had been a gift to Adams’s son and came with letter of provenance. The back of the photograph was signed and had Adams's notation, "Saigon, 1968." It sold for $43,200.
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
photographer and photojournalist noted for portraits of celebrities and politicians and his coverage of 13 wars.
Combat photographer
Adams served in the United States Marine CorpsUnited States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
as a combat photographer
War photography
War photography captures photographs of armed conflict and life in war-torn areas.Although photographs can provide a more direct representation than paintings or drawings, they are sometimes manipulated, creating an image that is not objectively journalistic.-History:Photography, presented to the...
. One of his assignments was to photograph the entire Demilitarized Zone
Korean Demilitarized Zone
The Korean Demilitarized Zone is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula that serves as a buffer zone between North and South Korea. The DMZ cuts the Korean Peninsula roughly in half, crossing the 38th parallel on an angle, with the west end of the DMZ lying south of the parallel and...
from end to end immediately following the war. This took him over a month to complete.
Pulitzer Prize winning photograph
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
for the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
that he took his best-known photograph – the picture of police chief General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan
Nguyen Ngoc Loan
General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan was the Republic of Vietnam's Chief of National Police. Nguyễn gained international attention when he executed handcuffed prisoner Nguyễn Văn Lém, a Viet Cong soldier, on February 1, 1968 in front of Vo Suu, an NBC cameraman, and Eddie Adams, an Associated Press photographer...
executing a Vietcong prisoner, Nguyễn Văn Lém
Nguyen Van Lem
Nguyễn Văn Lém was a member of the Viet Cong who was summarily executed in Saigon during the Tet Offensive. The execution was captured on film by photojournalist Eddie Adams, and the momentous image became a symbol of the inhumanity of war...
, on a Saigon street, on February 1, 1968, during the opening stages of the Tet Offensive.
Adams won the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography
Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography
The Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography was awarded from 1968 – 1999, thereafter being renamed as the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography.-List of winners:...
and a World Press Photo
World Press Photo
World Press Photo is an independent, non-profit organization based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Founded in 1955 the organization is known for holding the world's largest and most prestigious annual press photography contest....
award for the photograph (captioned 'General Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing a Viet Cong prisoner in Saigon'), but would later lament its notoriety. Writer and critic David D. Perlmutter
David D. Perlmutter
David D. Perlmutter, PH.D. became the director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Iowa on June 30, 2009. He is a Professor and Starch Faculty Fellow at the University of Iowa. As a documentary photographer, he is the author or editor of seven books on political...
points out that 'no film footage did as much damage as AP
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
photographer Eddie Adams's 35mm shot taken on a Saigon street ... When people talk or write about [the Tet Offensive] at least a sentence is devoted (often with an illustration) to the Eddie Adams picture'.
Anticipating the impact of Adams's photograph, an attempt at balance was sought by editors in the New York Times. In his memoirs, John G. Morris recalls that;
(Theodore M. Bernstein
Theodore M. Bernstein
Theodore Menline Bernstein was an assistant managing editor of The New York Times and from 1925 to 1950 a professor at the Columbia University School of Journalism.-Biography:...
), "determined that the brutality manifested by America's ally be put into perspective, agreed to run the Adams picture large, but offset with a picture of a child slain by Vietcong, which conveniently came through from AP
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
at about the same time".
Nonetheless, it is Adams's photograph that is remembered while the other far less dramatic image was overlooked and soon forgotten.
In Regarding the Pain of Others
Regarding the Pain of Others
Regarding the Pain of Others was Susan Sontag's last published book before her death in 2004. It is regarded by many to be a follow-up or addendum to On Photography, despite the fact that the two books have radically different opinions about photography. This long essay is especially interested in...
, Susan Sontag
Susan Sontag
Susan Sontag was an American author, literary theorist, feminist and political activist whose works include On Photography and Against Interpretation.-Life:...
is disturbed by what she sees as the staged nature of the photograph. She writes that 'he would not have carried out the summary execution there had [the press] not been available to witness it'. However, Donald Winslow of the New York Times quotes Adams as having described the image as a 'reflex picture' and 'wasn't certain of what he'd photographed until the film was developed'. Furthermore, Winslow notes that Adams 'wanted me to understand that “Saigon Execution” was not his most important picture and that he did not want his obituary to begin, “Eddie Adams, the photographer best known for his iconic Vietnam photograph ‘Saigon Execution’' .
On Nguyen Ngoc Loan and his famous photograph, Adams wrote in Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
:
Adams later apologized in person to General Nguyen and his family for the irreparable damage it did to the General's honor while he was alive. When Nguyen died, Adams praised him as a "hero" of a "just cause". On the television show "War Stories with Oliver North
War Stories with Oliver North
War Stories is a military history program on the Fox News Channel. Hosted by Oliver North , the program covers a number of different stories relating to war and national defense, featuring individuals who were directly involved with the topic covered in...
" Adams called Gen. Nguyen "a goddamned hero!"
He once said, "I would have rather been known more for the series of photographs I shot of 48 Vietnamese refugees who managed to sail to Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
in a 30-foot boat, only to be towed back to the open seas by Thai marines." The photographs, and accompanying reports, helped persuade then President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
to grant the nearly 200,000 Vietnamese boat people
Boat people
Boat people is a term that usually refers to refugees, illegal immigrants or asylum seekers who emigrate in numbers in boats that are sometimes old and crudely made...
asylum
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
. He won the Robert Capa Gold Medal
Robert Capa Gold Medal
The Robert Capa Gold Medal is an award for "best published photographic reporting from abroad requiring exceptional courage and enterprise". It is awarded annually by the Overseas Press Club of America . It was created in honor of the war photographer Robert Capa...
from the Overseas Press Club
Overseas Press Club
The Overseas Press Club of America was founded in 1939 in New York City by a group of foreign correspondents. The wire service reporter Carol Weld was a founding member...
in 1977 for this series of photographs in his photo essay, "The Boat of No Smiles" (Published by AP
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
). Adams remarked, "It did some good and nobody got hurt."
Awards
Along with the Pulitzer, Adams received over 500 awards, including the George Polk Award for News Photography in 1968, 1977 and 1978, and numerous awards from World Press Photo, NPPA, Sigma Delta Chi, Overseas Press Club, and many other organizations.Adams died in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
from complications of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Adams's legacy is continued through Barnstorm: The Eddie Adams Workshop, the photography workshop he started in 1988.
He is the subject of a 2009 documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
feature, An Unlikely Weapon, directed by Susan Morgan Cooper and narrated by Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland is an English-born Canadian actor, producer and director, best known for his portrayal of Jack Bauer on the Fox thriller drama series 24 for which he has won an Emmy Award , a Golden Globe award , two Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Satellite...
.
Eddie Adams Photographic Archive
The photographic archive of Eddie Adams has been donated by his widow, Alyssa Adams, to the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History at The University of Texas at Austin. The archive documents Adams's career and includes "Saigon Execution," his Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph. Measuring 200 linear feet in size, the Eddie Adams Photographic Archive includes slides, negatives, prints, audio and video materials, news stories, diaries, notes and tear sheets. In addition to substantive coverage of the Vietnam War, the collection includes his in-depth features on poverty in America, the homeless, Mother TeresaMother Teresa
Mother Teresa , born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu , was a Roman Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India, in 1950...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, alternative society, anti-war demonstrations, and riots, as well as his intimate portraits of such high-profile figures as Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
, Malcolm X
Malcolm X
Malcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
, Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
, Bette Davis
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis was an American actress of film, television and theater. Noted for her willingness to play unsympathetic characters, she was highly regarded for her performances in a range of film genres, from contemporary crime melodramas to historical and period films and occasional...
, Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
, and Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
.
Auction records
On October 22, 2009 Swann GalleriesSwann Galleries
Swann Galleries is a New York auction house founded in 1941. It is a specialist auctioneer of antique and rare works on paper, and it is considered the oldest continually operating New York specialist auction house....
auctioned a special print of Adams's most well-known image, Saigon (General Nguyen Ngoc Loan executing a Viet Cong prisoner Nguyen Van Lém). The oversize silver print image—printed in the 1980s—had been a gift to Adams’s son and came with letter of provenance. The back of the photograph was signed and had Adams's notation, "Saigon, 1968." It sold for $43,200.
External links
- Interview with Eddie Adams about 'The execution', his Pulitzer photograph
- Review of An Unlikely Weapon in Arts of War on the Web, June 26, 2009
- Voice autobiography of his Pulitzer photograph, the execution
- Interview for PBS
- Eddie Adams Photographs
- Eddie Adams obituary
- Eddie Adams Workshop
- An Unlikely Weapon: The Eddie Adams Story
- Dolph Briscoe Center for American History - Photojournalism
- The Price of a Picture: BBC Story on Recent Sale of Adams Photograph