RIT Welcomes Home Photojournalist Bernie Boston in SPAS Gallery Retrospective

Bernie Boston is as much a legend in the photographic world as his famous images. For more than 40 years, he was part of the A-team of photojournalists who grasped the essence of “picturing history.” And although some of his photographic assignments during his years at the White House or for The Los Angeles Times resembled a Who’s Who of the social and political scene, Boston also managed to literally seize the day—everyday—by recording the commonplace elements of human existence.

The School of Photographic Arts and Sciences (SPAS) Gallery at Rochester Institute of Technology proudly presents “Bernie Boston: American Photojournalist” in a retrospective exhibition which runs from Oct. 2 through Oct. 15. An opening reception will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 6, during RIT’s annual Brick City Homecoming alumni weekend.

“Bernie is a witness to our time and is rightfully recognized as one of the United States’ most consummate news photographers,” says Therese Mulligan, SPAS Gallery director in RIT’s College of Imaging Arts and Sciences. “As an RIT alumnus (’55), he is a role model for today’s photojournalism students.”

Boston was named Outstanding Alumni at RIT in 1975 and received the Distinguished Alumnus Award from RIT’s College of Imaging Arts and Sciences in 2001.

According to Mulligan, Boston’s career was largely based in Washington, D.C., during the last half of the twentieth century. “He captured the Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam War movements; the hermetic, inner sanctum of the White House and presidential residents; and history-making newsmakers, scandals, conflicts and triumphs.”

Notably, one of Boston’s signature pieces and an iconic work of this exhibition, “Flower Power,” earned him second-place as a Pulitzer Prize award-winner in 1967. “Flower Power” continues to be published in hundreds of publications, including The Best of LIFE as well as appearing in the PBS series American Photography: A Century of Images.

In association with the exhibition, RIT Cary Graphics Arts Press is publishing a 112-page companion catalogue surveying Boston’s award-winning career. The catalogue will be available for purchase ($24.99) during Boston’s book signing during the opening reception of the exhibition. To interview Bernie Boston, contact Therese Mulligan at (585) 475-2716.