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M+B is pleased to announce the exhibition PAUL FUSCO: RFK FUNERAL TRAIN. The opening will coincide
with the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. On a Saturday afternoon on June 5, 1968,
Magnum photographer Paul Fusco accompanied the body of Robert F. Kennedy as it made its way from New
York City to its final resting place in Arlington Cemetery, near Washington, D.C. Transported by train, the coffin
was placed in the last of twenty-two cars and elevated so that it was visible through the large observation
windows. However, it was what lay outside the train that interested Fusco most: the track-side mourners who—
silent, curious and patient—waited to pay their respects.
“They were mostly ordinary Americans: young parents, retirees, nuns, men in suits, teenagers in shorts. Some
waved happily. Others wailed in grief. Some stood quietly, hand to heart. Others snapped pictures. Some looked
plainly curious. Others hoisted placards of farewell. Some brought flowers, many only themselves. Boy Scouts
waved the Stars and Stripes. A woman knelt, her hands touching in prayer.” (Margarett Loke, New York Times)
A uniquely profound record, RFK FUNERAL TRAIN is an oblique chronicle of the tragedy and trauma of Robert F.
Kennedy's assassination. In tribute to RFK's raw empathy and his determination to make lives better across the
social spectrum, hundreds of thousands of people stood patiently in the searing heat to pay their respects. It was
one of those rare instance during the Civil Rights era that showed a nation coming together, when both black and
white shared a respect for a leader whom they believed could have healed the country's wounds.
In vivid color, Fusco's study provides a unique exploration of a nation coming to terms with the loss of a president
who never was. It presents a snapshot of a broad range of American citizens and conveys the depth of civic
feeling engendered by the tragedy. With their strange blend of valediction and voyeurism, these pictures capture
a decisive moment in American history, pictures in which the subject is forcibly absent. In an equally profound
way, RFK FUNERAL TRAIN offers a salient and instructive contrast to the diminishing levels of affection that the
public holds towards the political classes of today.
Paul Fusco was born in Leominster, Massachusetts in 1930. He received his B.F.A. in photojournalism from Ohio
University and went directly to work for Look magazine as a staff photographer and traveled extensively in South
East Asia, Mexico, India, Europe and Russia. In 1974 he joined Magnum Photos. His work has appeared in
many domestic and international publications such as Life, Time, Newsweek, The Sunday Times and Paris
Match. He has exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art;
Newseum, New York and the Corcoran Gallery, Washington, D.C. RFK Funeral Train was published by Umbrage
Editions in 2001, with an introduction by Norman Mailer. Most recently, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New
York acquired six of his photographs from this series.
Location: M+B, 612 North Almont Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90069
Show Title: PAUL FUSCO: RFK FUNERAL TRAIN
Exhibition Dates/Opening: June 5 – July 5, 2008; Opening: Thursday, June 5, 6 – 8p
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10a – 6p and by appointment
For more info, please contact Shannon Richardson at M+B at 310.550.0050 or shannon@mbfala.com
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