Exhibit focuses on U.S. presidents

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President Ronald Reagan tries to cut in on a dance between Frank Sinatra and first lady Nancy Reagan at the White House.

Photo courtesy Associated Press

August 20, 2008

"The American President," an exhibit of compelling news photos from the archives of the Associated Press, is on view through September 19 in the Humphrey Museum and Forum at the Hubert H. Humphrey Center on the Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis.

Amid the extraordinary voter interest in the 2008 race for the White House, the new exhibit--which aligns with the Republican National Convention--helps illustrate one constant in the ever-shifting media landscape. The coverage of the White House by AP reporters and photographers has been the dominant source of presidential news across the United States and around the world.

"The American President" includes memorable shots from the AP Images photo library, which contains more than 10 million film and digital images, and pictures taken in this year's run for the White House by Senators Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama.

The exhibit shows American presidents at war and at ease, in victory and in defeat, confronting national crises and facing personal scandals, running for office, and leading the country on the world stage.

"The American President" features a number of the AP's Pulitzer Prize-winning images, including Paul Vathis's view of John F. Kennedy conferring gravely with his predecessor, Dwight D. Eisenhower, at Camp David after the unsuccessful Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961; Ron Edmonds's rapid sequence documenting the 1981 assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan; and White House photos taken by J. Scott Applewhite and others during Bill Clinton's 1998 impeachment battle.

The more than 80 photos in the exhibit underscore the need for the AP photojournalists assigned to cover the White House to always keep their eyes on the president, so they won't miss those revealing, unexpected moments that could easily dominate thousands of front pages and Web sites around the world.

The display will be open to the public from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Admission is free. More information about the exhibit is available on the Associated Press Web site at American President.

The exhibit is co-sponsored by the University of Minnesota School of Journalism & Mass Communication and the Humphrey Institute's Center for the Study of Politics and Governance.

For further information, visitors may call the University of Minnesota School of Journalism & Mass Communication at 612-625-9824 or e-mail Minnesota Journalism Center.