R.f.k.

Never before has an assassination been photographed from start to finish:from the happiness in the Ambassador Hotel Ballroom to the hell that awaited R.F.K. in the kitchen. No matter what words are said, photographs don't lie. Harry Benson's photographs convey the horror of the tragedy: the panic in the room, Ethel Kennedy trying to help, the screaming not another Dallas, a young girl placing her "R.F.K. for President" boater on the pool of blood. "As Bobby lay there, a rosary placed in his hand, chaos ensued, and five others were shot around me," said photographer Benson.

Newly released in paperback format, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Senator Robert F. Kennedy's assassination, with excerpts from R.F.K.'s speeches and from photographer Harry Benson's own 1966-68 journals,R.F.K.: A Photographer's Journalis an intimate photographic portrait and a fitting tribute to an extraordinary man, and the legacy he left behind.

World-renowned photojournalist Harry Benson's photographs capture unprecedented intimate family outings alongside Senator Kennedy's brief but unforgettable presidential run, from the announcement of his candidacy on St. Patrick's Day in 1968, to the fervor and excitement of his days on the campaign trail, all the way through his shocking assassination in Los Angeles and the long, sweltering funeral procession to Arlington Cemetery. Here are glimpses of the exhilarating successes, and finally the chaos of that tragic night in Los Angeles, and the mourning of hundreds of thousands after their hero was struck down.

Award-winning Scottish photojournalist Harry Benson, CBE began his career at the weekly Hamilton Advertiser newspaper and moved to the Scottish Daily Sketch after his exclusive interviews in prison with Scottish mass murderer Peter Manuel. By 1959 Harry had moved to London’s Fleet Street working for Lord Beaverbrooks’s Daily Express. Harry traveled to America with the Beatles in 1964 and never looked back. Under contract to LIFE Magazine for 30 years, Harry has photographed for major magazines including Time, Vanity Fair, Newsweek, French Vogue, Quest, Paris Match, Forbes, Town & Country, Architectural Digest, People, and The London Sunday Times Magazine. The documentary Harry Benson: Shoot First which chronicles Harry’s 65 year career was released in December 2016 by Magnolia Pictures. In 2009 Harry was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for service to photography. Harry has received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from both St. Andrews University, Glasgow School of Art, Glasgow University, and Glasgow Caledonian University. An Honorary Fellow of London's Royal Photographic Society, he has twice been named NPPA Magazine "Photographer of the Year." In 2017 he received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Center of Photography. Harry is the only photographer who has photographed the last 12 U.S. Presidents — from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Donald J. Trump. Harry marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the civil rights movement, photographed the Watts Riots, was embedded in the Gulf War, and was next to Senator Robert Kennedy when he was assassinated. He has photographed countless luminaries including Muhammed Ali, Sir Winston Churchill, Jackie Kennedy, President Charles de Gaulle, Michael Jackson, The Rolling Stones, Elizabeth Taylor, Jack Nicholson, Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon, Kate Moss, and the British Royal Family, including a private sitting with Queen Elizabeth II in Buckingham Palace. There have been 40 gallery/museum solo exhibitions of his work, and sixteen books of his photographs have been published. Harry's wife, Gigi, works with him on his books and exhibitions. Their two daughters, Wendy and Tessa, live in Los Angeles with their families.