34 March 14 • 2019
jn
A
ward-winning photojournal-
ist Lawrence Schiller looked
through a database of 43,000
pictures — his among others — to
curate the final 77 images traveling
to museums around the country in
commemoration of a presidential
milestone.
The images form the exhibit
American Visionary: John F. Kennedy’
s
Life and Times, launched at the
Smithsonian American Art Museum
in Washington, D.C., to mark the
100th anniversary of the 35th presi-
dent’
s birth on May 29, 1917.
The exhibit, paired with a talk
by the curator, can be seen March
15-June 29 at the Marshall M.
Fredericks Sculpture Museum on
the campus of Saginaw Valley State
University, just north of Saginaw.
“This exhibit tells an emotional
story of Kennedy and his times,
” says
Schiller, whose Michigan presentation
will be on Thursday, March 21.
“There’
s a picture of JFK and Jackie
all dressed up and looking glamou-
rous going out for the evening; he’
s
in a tuxedo, and she’
s in an incredible
pink and white outfit. Next to that is a
picture of JFK walking
[his very young son] to
bed. No matter what the
glamour was, what the
business was, the chil-
dren were there, and he
walked them to bed.
”
One of Schiller’
s
pictures, fitting in with
the theme of emotion,
captures Richard Nixon conceding the
election as tears drop from Pat Nixon’
s
eyes, and it claimed the National
Press Photographers Association
and Encyclopedia Awards for Best
Storytelling Photo in 1961.
Schiller’
s role as exhibit curator has
a foundation of firsthand experiences
throughout the Kennedy years and
beyond.
During the 1960 presidential campaign, Schiller
worked as a photojournalist covering the day-to-day
election activities of the Nixon family for the French
magazine Paris Match.
In 1963, after President Kennedy was assassinated,
Schiller went on assignment in Dallas for the Saturday
Evening Post. He did the final interview with Jack Ruby,
Lee Harvey Oswald’
s assassin and brother of Earl Ruby,
who lived in Michigan. Earl Ruby coached Schiller on
Yiddish questioning of the hospitalized gunman to limit
guard understanding of answers spoken in English.
The year before the 2017 centennial celebration
began, Schiller was asked by members of the Kennedy
family to be photo and design consultant for a book,
JFK: A Vision for America, written by
Stephen Kennedy Smith and Douglas
Brinkley. It highlights the late presi-
dent’
s speeches and their impact.
“I went to Washington to propose the
exhibition,
” Schiller recalls. “I showed
the pictures in the book, and I said
I could get the exhibit ready in five
months. I told them I produced and
directed major motion pictures and
won Oscars and Emmys so I knew how
to produce something.
”
Schiller’
s interest in photography
grew out of his father’
s camera business,
where there was a darkroom for devel-
oping pictures after the young Schiller
received a camera for his bar mitzvah.
As his career progressed, Schiller
photographed many newsmakers from
world leaders to entertainers. One of his
famous subjects was Golda Meir.
“I went to Israel, and I remember
photographing her with her shopping
bag,
” Schiller says. “She didn’
t carry a
briefcase. She carried a shopping bag
with briefing papers, political papers
or notes she would need for meetings.
Depending where a conversation went,
she would go into her shopping bag and
take out papers.
”
Schiller moved away from profession-
al photography in the 1970s as he start-
ed producing, directing and writing.
Among his projects were Butch Cassidy
and the Sundance Kid and Lady Sings
the Blues as well as the Emmy Award-
winning miniseries Peter the Great.
Schiller, who has five children and
five grandchildren, describes himself as
a Reform Jew who has followed through
with his mother’
s commitment to
Hadassah.
“My mother left half of her estate
to Hadassah, and she had an annuity
with Hadassah,
” he explains. “When
she passed on, I was working with
Hadassah and made sure her legacy was
used properly.
”
Schiller, who has been in Michigan
on photojournalist assignments and to develop equip-
ment for Leica, will discuss “The Golden Age of
Journalism” upon his return to usher in the exhibit.
“I explain, in essence, how these pictures were made
and preserved and compare it all to the technology of
today, when there are very few still photographers of
this caliber,
” explains Schiller, 82. ■
SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
“American Visionary”
photography
arts&life
Lawrence
Schiller
Photojournalist Schiller to lecture at JFK exhibit opening at Saginaw State.
TOP: Oval Office, Washington, D.C., January 1961. ABOVE LEFT: Nixon delivers televised statement at
3:30 a. m. Los Angeles, Nov. 9, 1960. ABOVE RIGHT: Photo booth portrait.
Details
American Visionary: John F. Kennedy’
s Life and Times runs March 15-June 29 at the Marshall
M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum on the campus of Saginaw Valley State University, 7400 Bay
Road, University Center. Free admission. (989) 964-7125, marshallfredericks.org. For details on
the opening reception (4-7 p.m. Thursday, March 21) and to reserve a place by March 15, call
(989) 964-7082. The lecture runs 7-8 p.m. Thursday, March 21, at the Malcolm Field Theater.
JACQUES LOWE (COURTESY THE JACQUES LOWE ESTATE)
COURTESY JOHN F. KENNEDY PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY AND MUSEUM
LAWRENCE SCHILLER (POLARIS COMMUNICATIONS INC.)