George Tames (born January 21, 1919, in Washington D.C) was an American photographer for The New York Times from 1945-1985. Events 1189 - Philip II of France and Richard I of England begin to assemble troops to wage the Third Crusade. Year 1919 ( MCMXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) As a newspaper photographer, Tames was a regular on Capitol Hill over a span of forty years. Capitol Hill, aside from being a Metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential Neighborhood in Washington D
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Biography
A first generation American who couldn't speak English when he went to school, he dropped out of high school in the tenth grade, and went to work to help out the family since there just wasn't any money. Being the oldest his parents gave him the responsibility to watch over his younger brothers and sisters.
He came to Capitol Hill in 1940 where his career in photography began, going with the photographers on jobs and eventually photographing individual members. Capitol Hill, aside from being a Metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential Neighborhood in Washington D Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He photographed Harry Truman's War Investigating Committee. He developed access to and captured the likeness of numerous members of the United States, and had his work reproduced in many influential publications. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the He developed a style contrary to the "herd instinct" of press photographers, demonstrating his artistic eye, sense of place, and special intimacy with his subjects.
Photography
Tames took countless Washington shots, but (by his own admission) is particularly remembered for one, "The Loneliest Job," a photograph of President John F. Kennedy. John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29 1917&ndashNovember 22 1963 often referred to by his initials JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of As he explained in an interview late in life, the took the photograph through the door of the Oval Office, after Kennedy thought he had left:
President Kennedy's back was broken during the war, when that torpedo boat of his was hit by the Japanese destroyer. | |-| |-| |- | |-| |-| |-| |-| |} The Oval Office is the official office of the President of the United States. As a result of that injury he wore a brace on his back most of his life. Quite a few people didn't realize that. Also he could never sit for any length of time, more than thirty or forty minutes in a chair without having to get up and walk around. Particularly when it felt bad he had a habit, in the House, and the Senate, and into the presidency, of carrying his weight on his shoulders, literally, by leaning over a desk, putting down his palms out flat, and leaning over and carrying the weight of his upper body by his shoulder muscles, and sort of stretching or easing his back. He would read and work that way, which was something I had seen him do many times. When I saw him doing that, I walked in, stood by his rocking chair, and then I looked down and framed him between the two windows, and I shot that picture. [1]
Quotations
- "'Why are you a Democrat?' I say, 'I was born into the Democratic party, the same way I was born into the Greek Orthodox Church. The Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία Hellēnorthódoxē Ekklēsía) is formed by several autocephalous churches '"[1]
- "If there is anyone that should be a Republican or an ultra conservative, it's me, because I have not only conquered the fact that I had only a tenth grade education, but based on the friendships that I made, and the betting on people, like Mr. J. Willard Marriott. "[2]
- "My mother's reference to Roosevelt would be "Ieous", which is the Greek word for saintly, Saintly Roosevelt. She would refer to Hoover as "garata," which means someone with horns, like a goat. Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10 1874 &ndash October 20 1964 was the thirty-first President of the United States (1929–1933 So that's how I reckoned my own feelings. Then also in every Greek Orthodox family there's a holy corner, usually in the bedroom of the parents, and it faces east. "[3]
References
- ^ "George Tames, Washington Photographer for the New York Times," Interview #5, "The Story Behind the Photograph" (Oral History Interviews, Senate Historical Office, Washington, D. C. ), 3. Online edition.