Did you know… the Pulitzer Prizes, first awarded in 1917, were the inspiration of newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer. Now open at the National Constitution Center is the new exhibit, Capture the Moment: The Pulitzer Prize Photographers. This collection of Pulitzer photographs is one of the best exhibits the Constitution Center has curated and displayed. The factor setting this apart is that it doesn’t need the flashy and interactive aspects of exhibits past. It’s simply beautiful photography and the great stories behind them. Each photo shares the story behind the lens, leaving viewers walking away with a new perspective on some of the most famous photographs of all time.
The collection can be summed up as thought provoking, uplifting, mesmerizing, and courageous. It will make you think, smile, and even cry. The Washington Post said it best, “The images are as difficult to look at as they are to look away from.”
Organized chronologically and starting in the 1940s, the photos include shots from:
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Famous US Marines raising the flag at Iwo Jima
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Babe Ruth watching his number being retired at Yankee Stadium
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A grieving Coretta Scott King consoling her daughter
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A colorful shot of President Obama dressed down on a raining day
A favorite of the exhibit is the photo from local photographer, Tom Gralish, for the Philadelphia Inquirer. Gralish spent some time in the 1980s photographing a group of homeless people in Philadelphia. His photo will leave you awestruck. Another Inquirer photographer, Larry C. Price, won a Pulitzer for his work from Angola and El Salvador.
Curator Cyma Rubin did a fantastic job, and she sings high praises of the staff at NCC. But that’s something we already knew! Capture the Moment runs now through December 31, 2013. Tickets can be bought at: http://constitutioncenter.org.
