Armed With A Camera Photographs by Eddie Adams at Monroe Gallery of...

With his signature hat, ponytail and unassuming disposition, one might not realize that photographer Eddie Adams covered 13 wars, beginning with a stint as a Marine Corp combat photographer in Korea in the early 1950s and ending in Kuwait in 1991. He did three tours of Vietnam with the Associated Press and won the Pulitzer Prize for photography for his "Street Execution of a Vietcong Prisoner" (http://www.monroegallery.com/detail.cfmid=368)photograph. This year marks with the 40th anniversary of this iconic photograph, which instantly appeared in newspapers and magazines world-wide and has been widely credited with turning American popular sentiment against the Vietnam War.

In his more than five decades as a working photographer, Adams received more than 500 awards honoring his work, including World Press, New York Press, National Headliners and Sigma Delta Chi Awards. Born Edward Thomas Adams in New Kensington, Pa., on June 12, 1933, he began his photography career as a high school student in Kensington, Pa., shooting weddings and other events for $20. Adams was a Marine Corps combat photographer in the Korean War, and then settled into photojournalism . He joined the Associated Press in 1962. After a decade, Adams left the AP for TIME magazine and freelance work. He rejoined the AP in 1976, where he was the first and only photographer to hold the title of special correspondent. In 1980, Adams became a PARADE magazine photographer and, from 1982-2004, was a special correspondent to PARADE, which has featured more than 350 of Adams' photographs on its cover over the years.

One of the most honored and most published photographers of our time, Eddie Adams is also one of the most versatile: Adams photographed some of the most celebrated people in the world: Ronald Reagan (http://www.monroegallery.com/detail.cfmid=814), Fidel Castro (http://www.monroegallery.com/detail.cfmid=638), whom he liked, and Pope John Paul II; Mother Teresa (http://www.monroegallery.com/detail.cfmid=377), Jerry Lewis, Clint Eastwood and Bette Davis; Big Bird and Mickey Mouse. He remains one of the most published photographers in the U. S.

The exhibition coincides with the the documentary film "An Unlikely Weapon" produced and directed by Susan Morgan Cooper. The film covers the life and career of Eddie Adams, with lengthy interviews with the late Adams as he reflects on the burden of responsibility that came with his profession. The film is currently submitted to several international film festivals. Also, this fall "Eddie Adams: Vietnam" will be published by Umbrage Editions, with never-before seen photographs, field diaries, and memoirs with an essay by Hal Buell, Associated Press Bureau Chief, and other notable contributors.

Eddie Adams passed away on September 19, 2004. His legacy continues in the annual photojournalism workshop, Barnstorm: The Eddie Adams Workshop, which he created in 1988, and is still running strong today.

"Some assignments have been fun," others have been important photography because they came from the heart. A photograph can change the world and move mountains. It is through a photograph that we remember people and places the way they were. Some of the pictures I have taken tore my heart out. I have seen all kinds of things in my life and I have walked away from taking many pictures. I found out that I put myself in other people's shoes and often feel that I became my subjects. When someone was wounded I felt the pain. I got tired of crying. Each year we have a memorial service for my friends killed in Vietnam and I still cry." -- Eddie Adams

Monroe Gallery of Photography was founded by Sidney S. Monroe and Michelle A. Monroe. Building on more than four decades of collective experience, the gallery specializes in classic black & white photography with an emphasis on humanist and photojournalist imagery. The gallery also represents a select group of contemporary and emerging photographers.

Gallery hours are 10 to 6 Monday through Saturday, 10 to 5 Sunday. Admission is free. For further information, please call: 505.992.0800. Interviews with Alyssa Adams, colleagues of Eddie Adams, and Media kit with images available upon request.

For a comprehensive overview of photographs in the exhibition, please visit www.monroegallery.com, select "Photographers", then "Eddie Adams".

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