Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography
Encyclopedia
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for Feature Photography has been awarded since 1968 for a distinguished example of feature photography in black and white or color, which may consist of a photograph or photographs, a sequence or an album.
Before 1968, there was only one photography category, the Pulitzer Prize for Photography
Pulitzer Prize for Photography
The Pulitzer Prize for Photography was one of the Pulitzer Prizes. It was awarded from 1942 until 1967. In 1968, it was split into two separate prizes: the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography and the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography .* 1942: Milton Brooks of Detroit News, for his photo...
, which was divided into spot news
Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography
The Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography was awarded from 1968 – 1999, thereafter being renamed as the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography.-List of winners:...
and breaking news
Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography
The Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography, has been awarded since 2000. Before 1968, there was only one photography category, the Pulitzer Prize for Photography, which was divided into the Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Photography and feature categories...
and the feature categories.
The Pulitzer Committee issues an official citation explaining the reasons for the award.
List of winners in feature photography and their official citations
- 1968: Toshio SakaiToshio Sakai, a graduate of Meiji University, a photographer for United Press International, won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography in 1968, for a photograph depicting the Vietnam War. He was the first person to receive that award.- Notes :...
, United Press InternationalUnited Press InternationalUnited Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
, "for his Vietnam WarVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
combat photograph, 'Dreams of Better Times.'" - 1969: Moneta Sleet Jr. of Ebony magazine, "for his photograph of Martin Luther King Jr.'s widow and child, taken at Dr. King's funeral."
- 1970: Dallas KinneyDallas KinneyDallas Kinney, born in 1937 in Buckeye, Iowa is a world renowned photo journalist who won the 1970 Pulitzer Prize in photography for his photographs of Florida migrant workers...
, Palm Beach Post (Florida), "for his portfolio of pictures of FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
migrant workers, 'Migration to Misery.'" - 1971: Jack DykingaJack DykingaJack William Dykinga is an American photographer. He won the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography.He worked for the Chicago Tribune, and the Chicago Sun Times.He moved to Arizona....
, Chicago Sun-TimesChicago Sun-TimesThe Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
, "for his dramatic and sensitive photographs at the Lincoln and Dixon State Schools for the Retarded in IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
." - 1972: David Hume KennerlyDavid Hume KennerlyDavid Hume Kennerly in Roseburg, Oregon, won the 1972 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography for his portfolio of photographs taken of the Vietnam War, Cambodia, East Pakistani refugees near Calcutta, and the Ali-Frazier fight in Madison Square Garden, March 8, 1971...
, United Press InternationalUnited Press InternationalUnited Press International is a once-major international news agency, whose newswires, photo, news film and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines and radio and television stations for most of the twentieth century...
, "for his dramatic photographs of the Vietnam War in 1971." - 1973: Brian LankerBrian LankerBrian Lanker was an American photographer. He won the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography for a black-and-white photo essay on childbirth for The Topeka Capital-Journal, including the photograph "Moment of Life". Lanker died at his home in Eugene, Oregon on March 13, 2011 after a brief...
, Topeka Capital-Journal, "for his sequence on child birth, as exemplified by his photograph, 'Moment of Life.'" - 1974: Slava Veder, Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, "for his picture Burst of JoyBurst of JoyBurst of Joy is a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph by Associated Press photographer Slava "Sal" Veder, taken on March 17, 1973 at Travis Air Force Base in California...
, which illustrated the return of an American prisoner of war from captivity in North Vietnam." - 1975: Matthew LewisMatthew Lewis (photographer)-Life:He graduated from Morgan State University.He freelanced for the Baltimore Afro-American Newspaper, was managing editor of photography for the Washington Post where he retired in 1992, and was also a staff photographer with the Thomasville Times....
, Washington Post, "for his photographs in color and black and white." - 1976: Photographic staff of the Louisville Courier-Journal and Times, "for a comprehensive pictorial report on busing in Louisville's schools."
- 1977: Robin Hood, Chattanooga News-Free PressChattanooga Times Free PressThe Chattanooga Times Free Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and is distributed in the metro Chattanooga region of Tennessee and Northwest Georgia...
, "for his photograph of a disabled veteran and his child at an Armed Forces DayArmed Forces DaySeveral nations of the world hold an annual Armed Forces Day in honor of their military forces. - Armenia :Բանակի օր is celebrated on 28 January to commemorate the formation of the armed forces of the newly independent Republic of Armenia in 1992....
parade." - 1978: J. Ross Baughman, Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, "for three photographs from guerrilla areas in Rhodesia." - 1979: Staff photographers of the Boston Herald American, "for photographic coverage of the blizzard of 1978."
- 1980: Erwin H. Hagler, Dallas Times HeraldDallas Times HeraldThe Dallas Times Herald, founded in 1888 by a merger of the Dallas Times and the Dallas Herald, was once one of two major daily newspapers serving the Dallas, Texas area. It won three Pulitzer Prizes, all for photography, and two George Polk Awards, for local and regional reporting...
, "for a series on the Western cowboy." - 1981: Taro M. Yamasaki, Detroit Free PressDetroit Free PressThe Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
, "for his photographs of Jackson State Prison, Michigan." - 1982: John H. White, Chicago Sun-TimesChicago Sun-TimesThe Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
, "for consistently excellent work on a variety of subjects." - 1983: James B. DickmanJames B. DickmanJames B Dickman born in 1949, is an American photographer, he won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography while a staff member for the Dallas Times Herald....
, Dallas Times HeraldDallas Times HeraldThe Dallas Times Herald, founded in 1888 by a merger of the Dallas Times and the Dallas Herald, was once one of two major daily newspapers serving the Dallas, Texas area. It won three Pulitzer Prizes, all for photography, and two George Polk Awards, for local and regional reporting...
, "for his telling photographs of life and death in El SalvadorEl SalvadorEl Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
." - 1984: Anthony SuauAnthony SuauAnthony Suau , is an American award-winning photojournalist.-Life:He worked for the Chicago Sun Times, and Denver Post....
, The Denver PostThe Denver Post-Ownership:The Post is the flagship newspaper of MediaNews Group Inc., founded in 1983 by William Dean Singleton and Richard Scudder. MediaNews is today one of the nation's largest newspaper chains, publisher of 61 daily newspapers and more than 120 non-daily publications in 13 states. MediaNews...
, "for a series of photographs which depict the tragic effects of starvation in EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
and for a single photograph of a woman at her husband's gravesite on Memorial DayMemorial DayMemorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...
." - 1985: Stan Grossfeld, Boston Globe, "for his series of photographs of the famine in Ethiopia and for his pictures of illegal aliens on the U.S.-Mexico border."
- 1986: Tom GralishTom GralishTom Gralish is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American photographer. Born in Mount Clemens, Michigan, he worked for United Press International and the now-defunct Las Vegas Valley Times before coming to work for the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1983 as a photographer and photo editor. On April 7, 1985, he...
, The Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
, "for his series of photographs of Philadelphia's homeless." - 1987: David C. Peterson, Des Moines RegisterDes Moines RegisterThe Des Moines Register is the daily morning newspaper of Des Moines, Iowa, in the United States. A separate edition of the Register is sold throughout much of Iowa.-History:...
, "for his photographs depicting the shattered dreams of American farmers." - 1988: Michel duCilleMichel duCilleMichel duCille is an American photojournalist and three-time Pulitzer Prize winner. He shared his first Pulitzer in the 1986 Spot News Photography category with fellow Miami Herald staff photographer Carol Guzy for their coverage of the November 1985 eruption of Colombia's Nevado del Ruiz volcano...
, Miami Herald, "for photographs portraying the decay and subsequent rehabilitation of a housing project overrun by the drug crack." - 1989: Manny Crisostomo, Detroit Free PressDetroit Free PressThe Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
, "for his series of photographs depicting student life at Southwestern High School in Detroit." - 1990: David C. TurnleyDavid C. TurnleyDavid C. Turnley is an American photographer. He won the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for photography for images of the political uprisings in China and Eastern Europe, the World Press Photo Picture of the Year in 1988 for a photo taken in Leninakan after the devastating Armenian earthquake and again in...
, Detroit Free PressDetroit Free PressThe Detroit Free Press is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, USA. The Sunday edition is entitled the Sunday Free Press. It is sometimes informally referred to as the "Freep"...
, "for photographs of the political uprisings in China and Eastern Europe." - 1991: William Snyder, The Dallas Morning NewsThe Dallas Morning NewsThe Dallas Morning News is the major daily newspaper serving the Dallas, Texas area, with a circulation of 264,459 subscribers, the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported in September 2010...
, "for his photographs of ill and orphaned children living in subhuman conditions in RomaniaRomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
." - 1992: John KaplanJohn KaplanJohn Kaplan is an American photographer who won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography "for his photographs depicting the diverse lifestyles of seven 21-year-olds across the United States"....
, Block Newspapers, Toledo, Ohio, "for his photographs depicting the diverse lifestyles of seven 21-year-olds across the United States." - 1993: Staff of Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, "for its portfolio of images drawn from the 1992 presidential campaign." - 1994: Kevin CarterKevin CarterKevin Carter was an award-winning South African photojournalist and member of the Bang-Bang Club.-Early life:...
, a free-lance photographer, "for a picture first published in The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
of a starving Sudanese girl who collapsed on her way to a feeding center while a vulture waited nearby." - 1995: Staff of Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, "for its portfolio of photographs chronicling the horror and devastation in RwandaRwandaRwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
." (images) - 1996: Stephanie Welsh, "a free-lancer, for her shocking sequence of photos, published by Newhouse News Service, of a female genital cuttingFemale genital cuttingFemale genital mutilation , also known as female genital cutting and female circumcision, is defined by the World Health Organization as "all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia, or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons."FGM...
rite in KenyaKenyaKenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
." (images) - 1997: Alexander ZemlianichenkoAlexander ZemlianichenkoAlexander Zemlianichenko , prominent Russian photojournalist, born May 7, 1950, in Saratov, Russia.He has been working for the Associated Press in Moscow since 1990...
, Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, "for his photograph of Russian President Boris YeltsinBoris YeltsinBoris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999.Originally a supporter of Mikhail Gorbachev, Yeltsin emerged under the perestroika reforms as one of Gorbachev's most powerful political opponents. On 29 May 1990 he was elected the chairman of...
dancing at a rock concert during his campaign for re-election. This was originally nominated in the Spot News Photography section, but was moved by the board to Feature Photography." (image) - 1998: Clarence Williams, Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, "for his powerful images documenting the plight of young children with parents addicted to alcohol and drugs." (images) - 1999: Staff of Associated PressAssociated PressThe Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, "for its striking collection of photographs of the key players and events stemming from President ClintonBill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
's affair with Monica LewinskyMonica LewinskyMonica Samille Lewinsky is an American woman with whom United States President Bill Clinton admitted to having had an "improper relationship" while she worked at the White House in 1995 and 1996...
and the ensuing impeachment hearings." (images) - 2000: Carol GuzyCarol GuzyCarol Guzy is a four-time Pulitzer Prize winning Washington Post photographer.-Life and career:Guzy grew up in a working-class family in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania....
, Michael Williamson and Lucian PerkinsLucian PerkinsLucian Perkins is an award-winning American photojournalist, who is best known for covering a number of controversial conflicts with profound compassion for his photograph's subjects, including the war in Afghanistan, Kosovo and the 1991 Persian Gulf War...
, Washington Post, "for their intimate and poignant images depicting the plight of the KosovoKosovoKosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
refugees." (images) - 2001: Matt Rainey, Star-Ledger (New Jersey), "for his emotional photographs that illustrate the care and recovery of two students critically burned in a dormitory fire at Seton Hall UniversitySeton Hall UniversitySeton Hall University is a private Roman Catholic university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by Archbishop James Roosevelt Bayley, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesan university in the United States. Seton Hall is also the oldest and largest Catholic university in the...
." (images) - 2002: The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
staff, "for its photographs chronicling the pain and the perseverance of people enduring protracted conflict in AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
." (images) - 2003: Don Bartletti, Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, "for his memorable portrayal of how undocumented Central American youths, often facing deadly danger, travel north to the United States." (images) - 2004: Carolyn ColeCarolyn ColeCarolyn Cole is a staff photographer for the Los Angeles Times. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography in 2004, for her coverage of the siege of Monrovia, the capital of Liberia.-Biography:...
, Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, "for her cohesive, behind-the-scenes look at the effects of civil war in LiberiaLiberiaLiberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, with special attention to innocent citizens caught in the conflict." (images) - 2005: Deanne Fitzmaurice, San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chroniclethumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
, "for her sensitive photo essay on an OaklandOakland, CaliforniaOakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
hospital's effort to mend an Iraqi boy nearly killed by an explosion." (images) - 2006: Todd HeislerTodd HeislerTodd Heisler is an American photojournalist. He is currently a staff photographer for the New York Times. In September 2010, he won an Emmy as a member of the New York Times "One in 8 Million" team ....
of Rocky Mountain NewsRocky Mountain NewsThe Rocky Mountain News was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As of March 2006, the Monday-Friday circulation was 255,427...
, "for his haunting, behind-the-scenes look at funerals for ColoradoColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
Marines who return from Iraq in caskets." (images) - 2007: Renée C. Byer of The Sacramento BeeThe Sacramento BeeThe Sacramento Bee is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its creation in 1857, the Bee has become Sacramento's largest newspaper, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 25th largest paper in the U.S...
, "for her intimate portrayal of a single mother and her young son as he loses his battle with cancer." (images) - 2008: Preston Gannaway of the Concord MonitorConcord MonitorThe Concord Monitor is the daily newspaper for Concord, the state capital of New Hampshire. It also covers substantial portions of surrounding Merrimack and Belknap counties in New Hampshire's Lakes Region...
, "for her intimate chronicle of a family coping with a parent's terminal illness." (images) - 2009: Damon WinterDamon WinterDamon Winter is a New York based photographer who specializes in documentary, editorial, and travel photography. He received a Pulitzer Prize for feature photography in 2009 while with The New York Times.-Background:...
of The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, "for his memorable array of pictures deftly capturing multiple facets of Barack ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
’s presidential campaign." Photographer's page - 2010: Craig F. WalkerCraig F. WalkerCraig F. Walker is an American photojournalist. In 2010, Walker won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography "for his intimate portrait of a teenager who joins the Army at the height of insurgent violence in Iraq, poignantly searching for meaning and manhood." He is on staff of The Denver...
of The Denver PostThe Denver Post-Ownership:The Post is the flagship newspaper of MediaNews Group Inc., founded in 1983 by William Dean Singleton and Richard Scudder. MediaNews is today one of the nation's largest newspaper chains, publisher of 61 daily newspapers and more than 120 non-daily publications in 13 states. MediaNews...
, "for his intimate portrait of a teenager who joins the Army at the height of insurgent violence in Iraq, poignantly searching for meaning and manhood." Feature Photography Images - 2011: Barbara Davidson of Los Angeles TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, "For her intimate story of innocent victims trapped in the city’s crossfire of deadly gang violence." (http://www.pulitzer.org/citation/2011-Feature-Photography, http://www.pulitzer.org/works/2011-Feature-Photography)