Aaron Stanley Tretick (July 21, 1921 – July 23, 1999) was an American photojournalist who worked for UPI, Look, and People magazines. He covered every president from Harry S. Truman through George H. W. Bush. Tretick also did stills for many films, including All the President's Men and The Candidate. He is best known today for the photographs he took of John F. Kennedy’s 1960 campaign and presidency. In the final issue of Look, in 1971, Tretick was called "President Kennedy's photographic Boswell."Nick Ravo, "Stanley Tretick, 77, Photographer Of Kennedys at the White House," New York Times, 7/20/1999
Early life
Tretick was born in Baltimore and raised in Washington, D.C., graduating from Central High School in 1940. Following a stint as a copy boy for The Washington Post, he joined the Marines in 1942."Stanley Tretick Leaves to Train with U.S. Marines," Washington Post, 9/31/1942 Trained as a photographer, he served in the Pacific during World War II and then covered D.C. as a tough-talking news cameraman. Tretick joined Acme Newspictures and photographed combat during the Korean War.
In 1951, Tretick's were among the Korean War photos in the exhibit "Korea—The Impact of War" at the Museum of Modern Art in New York."Pictures from Korea," New York Times, 2/18/1951 His photo of a soldier crumpled with despair and holding his muddy face in his hands was selected by Military Times as one of the one hundred most-enduring images captured in combat.
UPI
Tretick moved to United Press, which acquired Acme in 1952.Marie Fulton, "Picture This!" The Digital Journalist, Nov. 2006 He covered Capitol Hill, the White House and the presidential campaigns of the fifties. In 1952, the television audience saw the intrepid photographer punched by a delegate at the Republican National Convention."Anyway, It Was an Exciting Convention," Washington Post, 7/12/1952"Photographer Sues GOP for Chicago Clash," Washington Post, 8/23/1952Stanley Tretick as told to Douglas Larsen, "I Shoot the Bigshots," Saturday Evening Post, 3/15/1958 A photo of Tretick in 1957 being hit by gangster Johnny Dio outside the Senate Caucus Room appeared around the country.Bernard D. Nossiter, "Dio Slugs Cameraman, Repeatedly Pleads the Fifth," The Washington Post and Times-Herald, 8/9/1957."Strong Arm Dio Doing What Comes Naturally," Life, 8/19/1957 Tretick complained, "The worst part of being hit while on assignment is that some other photographer scoops you with a sensational shot of you getting belted."
The agency, which became United Press International, assigned Tretick to travel with Senator John F. Kennedy in 1960. Tretick logged more miles with Kennedy during the presidential campaign than any other photographer.Laura Bergquist, A Very Special President (McGraw-Hill, 1965), Foreword The photographer and candidate became friends and Tretick took many important pictures during this time.
Look magazine
In 1961, when Kennedy took office, UPI refused to assign Tretick exclusively to the White House. Kennedy told Tretick to get a job with any publication that would, promising him extensive access. On this basis, Look hired Tretick.Dirck Halstead, "A Tribute to Stanley Tretick," The Digital Journalist, no date (1999) Tretick is noted for the photographs he took of President Kennedy with his children.
Though his wife Jacqueline fought to shield young Caroline and John Jr., Kennedy knew the public relations value of images that showed him with his young family. As Laura Bergquist of Look wrote about a battle over Tretick's photos of Caroline, Kennedy "was a reasonable man, open to persuasion, especially in matters of self-interest.".Laura Bergquist, A Very Special President (McGraw-Hill, 1965), p. 84 According to Philip Brookman of the Corcoran Gallery of Art,
[Tretick's] photographs of [the Kennedys] published in Look from 1961 to 1964, helped define the American family of the early sixties and lent Kennedy an endearing credibility that greatly contributed to his popularity. A 1962 Look cover of Kennedy driving his nieces and nephews in a golf cart, taken at the family compound in Hyannis Port, is akin to the patriotic, illustrative paintings of Norman Rockwell that still graced the covers of the Saturday Evening Post. Tretick's uncanny understanding of the symbolic value of such imagery allowed him to focus on small humanistic moments within the power and politics of Washington.Look, January 2, 1962Philip Brookman, pamphlet for "Stanley Tretick: The Kennedy Years" exhibit, Corcoran Gallery of Art, July 1- October 7, 2002
On October 2, 1963, Tretick took his most famous photograph for an article about the President and his son. While Jacqueline Kennedy was out of the country, Tretick was allowed to join the father and son, walking the halls of the White House and playing together in the Oval Office. Tretick's photo of the moment John Jr., popped out from under the President's desk, with Kennedy seated behind, encapsulates the myth of Camelot. When Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, these pictures were already on the newsstands and helped create lasting memories of John F. Kennedy the man.Laura Bergquist, A Very Special President (McGraw-Hill, 1965), pp. 121, 124, 125-126"The President and His Son," Look, Dec. 3, 1963
Tretick also covered Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign. His last picture of Bobby Kennedy was taken as Kennedy was going down to speak to his jubilant supporters after his victory in the California primary. Kennedy was assassinated after making that speech.Kitty Kelley, Capturing Camelot: Stanley Tretick's Iconic Images of The Kennedys (Thomas Dunne, 2012), pp. 214-215 One of Tretick's photos of Robert F. Kennedy was used for a commemorative stamp released in 1979.F. R. Bruns Jr., "Stamps and Coins," The Washington Post and Times-Herald, 12/10/1978
People magazine
In later years, Tretick began to spend more time covering the movie industry. In addition to his news work, Tretick did special still photography for movies, becoming friends with Robert Redford, Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman and others. His first major Look cover for a movie was of the "dames" of Valley of the Dolls in 1967.Look, Sept. 5, 1967 In 1996, Washingtonian magazine said that "his career has been a kind of metaphor for the Washington-Hollywood connection.""All That Glitters: Stanley Tretick Captured the Faces That Haunt and Sweeten the City's Memories," Washingtonian, March 1996
When Look magazine folded in 1971, Tretick became a founding photographer of People magazine where he retired in 1995 as a contributing photographer. He covered major stories such as Watergate, Iran-Contra and the Clarence Thomas hearings.
He turned down a chance to be President Jimmy Carter's personal photographer. "I didn't feel he wanted an intimate, personal photographer around him," Tretick said.A. O. Sulzberger Jr., "Portrait of Personal Photographers to the President," New York Times, 4/18/1981
Death
Tretick died in July 1999 at the age of 78, just days after John F. Kennedy Jr.'s plane crashed off the coast of Martha's Vineyard.
Tretick had said of his picture of John F. Kennedy Jr. in his father's desk, "When I shove off I'll probably be remembered for the snap of John-John."Kitty Kelley, "Jackie Said 'No,'" Washingtonian, November 2000 His obituaries bore this out, invariably mentioning the photo; some newspapers printed it.Claudia Levy, "Photographer A. Stanley Tretick, 77, Dies," Washington Post,7/20/1999Nick Ravo, "Stanley Tretick, 77, Photographer Of Kennedys at the White House," New York Times 7/20/1999Sue Woodman, "Obituaries: Stanley Tretick," Guardian, 7/28/1999"A. Stanley Tretick," The Times (London), 7/21/1999Rita Delfiner, "Fotog Famed for JFK Pix Dies at 77," New York Post, 7/21/1999"Milestones," Time, 8/2/1999 But Dick Stolley of Time, who had known Tretick at Look and at People, recognized the breadth of Tretick's work: "He was that most unusual of photographers, a man who could do anything—soft subjects like the Kennedy children and very tough things, too."
Awards
First prize in personalities class, White House News Photographers Association, 1950"Post Cameraman Captures 4 Prizes in White House Photo Contest," Washington Post, 2/26/1950 National Headliners Award, 1951Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2006. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Thomson Gale, 2006. Second prize and honorable mention in war class, White House News Photographers Association, 1951"White House Photographers' Show Opened at Congressional Library," Washington Post, 2/25/1951 Third prize in presidential class and third prize and honorable mention in personalities class, White House News Photographers Association, 1953"Post Sweeps 3 Top Places in Sports Picture Awards," Washington Post, 3/22/1953 Second prize in personalities class, honorable mention in presidential class, and third prize in spot news class, White House News Photographers Association, 1954"Vandenburg Picture Wins Photo Award," Washington Post, 3/14/1954 Graflex Achievement Award, 1955 First prize in presidential class and grand award, White House News Photographers Association, 1956"Winners in Photo Contest," The Washington Post and Times-Herald, 4/25/1956 First prize in color class, honorable mentions in personalities class and presidential class, White House News Photographers Association, 1962"Tames Gets Top Prize for Photo of Kennedy," The Washington Post and Times-Herald, 4/22/1962 First prize in color news class, second prize in portfolio class and honorable mention in presidential class, White House News Photographers Association, 1964"Photo Prize Winners Meet With President," The Washington Post and Times-Herald, 3/1/1964; "Lincoln-Like Kennedy Photo Named Top White House Picture," The Washington Post and Times-Herald, 3/39/1964 First prize for picture story, first prize in color class, and grand award, White House Photographers Competition, 1966
Books A Very Special President (McGraw-Hill, 1965) They Could Not Trust the King (Macmillan Publishing, 1974) A Portrait of All the President's Men (Warner Books, 1976) Capturing Camelot (Thomas Dunne Books, 2012) Let Freedom Ring (Thomas Dunne Books, 2013) Martin's Dream Day (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2017)
Exhibitions
The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C. (July 1 – October 7, 2002), The Kennedy YearsFrank van Riper, "Stan Tretick and the Obligations of Access," WashingtonPost.com, 2002 The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, Dallas, TX (2003), The Kennedy Years 1911 Historic City Hall Arts & Cultural Center, City of Lake Charles, LA (January 28 – April 1, 2006), Bobby, Martin & John: Once Upon an American Dream The University of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg, TX (February 2 – April 28, 2006), Surrendering the White House: Exploring Watergate Dean Lesher Regional Center for the Arts, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA (February 5 – April 16, 2006), The Kennedy YearsMartha Ross, Diablo Magazine, February 2006 DuSable Museum of African American History, Chicago, IL (January 10 – June 1, 2008), And Freedom For All: The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedomhttp://www.dusablemuseum.org/exhibits/details/and-freedom-for-all-martin-luther-king-the-civilrights-Movement (Accessed 10/22/2012) Frazier International History Museum, Louisville, KY (May 18 – October 5, 2008), Bobby, Martin & John: Once Upon an American Dream"Frazier Museum Exhibit Recalls Courage and Struggles of Kennedy Family, Martin Luther King, Jr.," artdaily.org, no date (2008)(Accessed 10/22/2012) Martin Luther King Jr., National Historic Site, Atlanta, GA (November 19, 2008 – February 28, 2009), Bobby, Martin & John: Once Upon an American Dream Dale Mabry Campus Art Gallery, Hillsborough Community College, Tampa, FL (January 20 – February 18, 2009), And Freedom For All: The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom