Paul Fusco (1) (1930–2020)

I came to Paul Fusco: RFK via David Rowell's The Train of Small Mercies, which Rowell says was inspired by Fusco’s photographs (taken in 1968 on assignment for Look Magazine) of the crowds lining the train route carrying Robert F. Kennedy’s family and remains from his funeral in NYC to his burial in Washington DC.

This is the latest collection of those photographs, some of which are blurred literally by the train’s motion, most of which are profoundly moving, emotionally -- the abject show more shock on faces, the surprising mix of ages, the races standing elbow to elbow. They *are* inspiring, in their hint of outside lives and their riveting attention to the moment of RFK and country. The book also features Ted Kennedy’s eulogy of his brother and several essays, including Norman Mailer bargaining with God in “The Promise,” excerpted from The Time of Our Time. show less

In tribute to Robert F. Kennedy’s raw empathy, his determination to make our lives better, and his insistence that the government is answerable to all – black and white, rich and poor – hundreds of thousands of people stood patiently in the searing heat on June 8th, 1968 to watch his funeral train travel slowly from New York to Washington, D.C., just as Abraham Lincoln’s had, 103 years before. Paul Fusco photographed the silent, mourning crowds from the passing train. The result, show more brought to light over thirty-years later, is a moving snapshot of America at a crucial moment of trauma and transition.

An essay by Norman Mailer, as well as a retelling of the events surrounding the funeral of RFK by prizewinning Newsweek editor Evan Thomas, join the tribute given by Senator Edward M. Kennedy, capturing how this man and his vision of America touched us with steadfast idealism and humanity. (Magnum Photos) show less

On June 8, 1968, the body of Robert F. Kennedy was taken by a funeral train from New York City to Washington DC to be buried in the Arlington cemetery. From a train window, Paul Fusco took photographs of the grieving public lining the route. Since 2014, artist Rein Jelle Terpstra has sought many of the same spectators, and has been collecting their snapshots and film footage of themselves and of the train, for his project "The People's View." Also inspired by the original images of Fusco, show more artist Philippe Parreno arranged for filming a reenactment of citizens watching the passing of the funeral train.

Le 8 juin 1968, trois jours après l'assassinat de Bob Kennedy, un convoi funéraire transporte sa dépouille de New York à Washington. Deux millions d'Américains endeuillés se rassemblent le long des voies de chemin de fer. 50 ans après, The Train propose de croiser trois regards sur ce moment de l'histoire des Etats-Unis : d'abord les images mythiques du photographe Paul Fusco qui était à bord du train, ensuite une série de snapshots pris par les anonymes au bord des rails, puis celui de Philippe Parreno, artiste contemporain qui, avec une centaine de figurants, a remis en scène les gestes de cette ces Américains. show less

"Paul Fusco: RFK," published during the fortieth anniversary of Robert F. Kennedy's assassination, is the long-awaited follow-up to Fusco's acclaimed "RFK Funeral Train," a body of work heralded as a contemporary classic. This historical new publication features more than 70 never-before-seen images, many selected from the untapped treasure trove of slides that comprise the Library of Congress' "Look" Magazine Collection.
As a staff photographer for "Look" magazine in 1968, Fusco was show more commissioned to document all of the events surrounding the funeral. In addition to capturing the thousands of Americans who stood by the railroad tracks to greet the funeral train carrying Kennedy's coffin, he also photographed the mourners gathered at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, as well as the dramatic night burial in Arlington National Cemetery. In this volume, newly discovered photographs are presented alongside classic images of the funeral train that have been seared into public consciousness from two previous iterations of the work: a 1999 limited edition and the 2000 trade edition, both long out-of-print.
"Paul Fusco: RFK" provides a new perspective on this legendary photographer's singular achievement. It also helps solidify the status of this classic body of work as one of the great efforts in photographic reportage and an incomparable document of this pivotal moment in U.S. history.
Paul Fusco, born in Leominster, Massachusetts in 1930 and a member of Magnum Photos since 1974, began his career photographing for the U.S. Signal Corps during the Korean War. He studied photojournalism at Ohio University and his work has been widely published and exhibited at venues including the Photographers' Gallery, London and the International Festival of Photojournalism, Perpignan, France.
Senator Edward M. Kennedy, brother of Robert F. Kennedy, has served in the U.S. Senate since 1962.
Norman Mailer (1923-2007) wrote more than 30 books, garnering the Pulitzer Prize twice.
Evan Thomas is Editor at "Newsweek" and author of "Robert Kennedy: His Life."
Vicki Goldberg is a leading voice in the field of photography criticism; her essay collection "Light Matters" was published by Aperture in 2005. show less