In The Room Where it Happened: A Survey Of Presidential Photographers
January 12 – March 31, 2024
Our understanding of the U.S. presidency is largely shaped by images. Photographs of political campaigns, international engagements, historic legislation, and national tragedy, accompany more intimate family scenes and humanizing portraits, each contributing to the global perception of the American presidency for generations to come.
Featuring the work of the official White House photographers Shealah Craighead, Eric Draper, Michael Evans, Sharon Farmer, David Hume Kennerly, Bob McNeely, Yoichi Okamoto, Adam Schultz, Pete Souza, David Valdez and staff photographer Joyce Boghosian, this group has shaped our vision of the presidency for the last 6 decades.
Presidential photography highlights the complex nature of creativity, documentation and portraiture. Each photographers’ perspective and stories provide context for framing important moments, giving viewers a deeper understanding of the challenges and rewards of documenting the presidency, offering a comprehensive and insightful visual narrative of the U.S. presidency through the lens of these dedicated and talented photographers.
About Eric Draper –
Eric Draper served as President George W Bush!s chief White House photographer for the entire eight years of his presidency. Draper was named Special Assistant to the President, and is the first White House photographer to be named a commissioned officer to a U.S. president. Also during his tenure, Draper directed the photographic and archival conversion of the White House Photo Office from film to digital and took nearly 1 million photos documenting the presidency. Prior to joining the White House, Draper was West Regional Enterprise Photographer for the Associated Press. In eight years with the AP, Draper covered an array of domestic and international news and sports. Draper has also worked as a staff photographer for The Seattle Times, the Pasadena Star-News and the Albuquerque Tribune. He won the Associated Press Managing Editors’ Award for three consecutive years, the 1999 National Headliner Award and was named 1992 Photographer of the Year by Scripps Howard Newspapers. Draper is currently a freelance corporate, and editorial photographer based in Rio Rancho, New Mexico where he lives with his wife and three dogs. He is an obsessive LA Laker fan.
Interview with Eric Draper, Chief White House photo director and personal photographer for U.S. President George W. Bush
How do you approach capturing the essence of a U.S. President through your lens?
Like any story that I start I try not to have too many preconceived ideas before I start making photos, but I do like to have plenty of background knowledge of the story. I would rather have the story play out in front of me, and then decipher the storyline in real time and in the post editing process. There was always something I didn’t see when I was shooting the photo that I saw later in the editing process. I loved those surprises.
How do you navigate the balance between capturing authentic moments and respecting the president’s privacy?
Respecting the president’s privacy is the most important thing when covering the presidency. I want the present to be as comfortable as possible during my presence in his life. There is a fine line between respecting privacy and being where you need to be in order to get the photo. It was more of a give-and-take every day, but I always tried to gauge the president’s comfort level first before I got any closer both physically or intimately. After spending eight years watching him everyday, I can tell by the tone of the president’s voice if he was having a good day or a bad day or a day.
Are there specific rituals or routines you follow when preparing for a presidential photoshoot?
I always followed the president’s routine which seemed to work the best. When he would eat, I would eat. When he would work out, I would work out. When he would go use the restroom. I would use the restroom. I wouldn’t miss a thing when I followed his routine. President Bush had a very specific daily routine. He was an early riser and he was early to bed. I could actually plan my day or plan my week because he really stuck to his schedule.
Can you discuss the importance of visual storytelling in conveying the president’s narrative through your photographs?
On the Pennsylvania Avenue side of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC reads the inscription “Study the Past”. I hope that’s what scholars and the public will do with my photographs of the presidency of George W. Bush. The importance of the Bush photo archive will gain more importance as time goes by.
What role does collaboration play between you and other members of the presidential communication team?
I had a role on the communication team for President George W. Bush, but I also knew that my role had a higher purpose. I tried to document reality while the communications team tried to promote president Bush’s daily message. The communications team used more of a political lens in filtering images. I tried to see my images in a historical context.
Is there a specific image or moment that most encapsulates your vision, or that you are most proud of? Among the millions of images taken during an administration, is there one that meets your measure of success in securing the history of that moment, whether it be significant or minor?
I have many, many images that I’m proud of. There were a handful of images to stand out. For example, all of the images on 9/11 were very intense and told the story. There is one image that stands out in my mind in the over million photos I took in the eight years. This photo captured President George W. Bush’s personality and character. The image was taken on his ranch in Crawford, Texas as the president drove his pickup truck in August of 2001. He is wearing an iconic cowboy hat in the picture. He is in profile. He has a twinkle in his eye, the same twinkle that he has when he connects with people, but the timing of image is more important. That Image was taken a month before 9/11. Every time I see that photo, I see a sense of innocence before the world changed.
What does it mean for you to be in conversation with so many photographers who share similar journeys in this exhibitions? Has it allowed to see your practice under a different light?
I find it fascinating that each White House photographer has such a similar subject, but such a different way of seeing their president in photos.
Behind the Lens: Curatorial Insights with Crista Dix
Why is a show like this so critical at this moment in time?
It was important to me in this election year to remember what is at stake here in our country. Remembering who we are as a country and that our diversity is our strength is vital to our success as a democracy. In the Room Where it Happened is a look at power and perception. As the most visible person in the world for our democratic state, the President of the United States is a visual reminder of all that America represents. What was important to me in curating this exhibition is how each of these photographers balanced their unique vision, the shared vision of their principal and creating a lasting document for history, all in a split second. Their vision shapes ours, their view of history is our view of history.
What ideas do you hope the show sparks in people’s minds?
This cohort of photographers has all had a ringside seat to our history, our shared experience. What was important for me was to celebrate the visions of these historians and documentarians behind the camera. What I hope for people to see is to be reminded of our shared history, to remember the peaceful transfer of power, of how working together we can solve problems. This exhibition also shows in a subtle way the expectation of how we see our president, how through time our expectation of that vision has changed, evolved and become more human. These photographers use their creative vision to stop time.
Where did the idea of the exhibition come from?
It started with a conversation of one of our board members, Lou Jones. It was meant to be a smaller scale exhibition, and I took it further than planned. As an armchair historian, I couldn’t wait to have these photographers write their own history. Always the silent partner in the room, I was looking forward to seeing them speak with their vision. My conversations with each photographer taught me more about history, theirs and ours, about the craft of photography and about their vision, and I hope that comes through as people walk the exhibition and see all the details captured in each frame.
