An epic portrait of 20th Century America

After getting his start working for the St. Petersburg Times while still in high school, Al Satterwhite knew the newspaper business was not his calling. ​“It was exciting but I wanted to be a LIFE photographer,” he says, voicing the dream of someone who had grown up during the golden age of picture magazines.

In 1968, Satterwhite took a job as personal photographer for Florida Governor Claude Kirk, who was jockeying for Richard Nixon’s Vice Presidential nod. ​“I basically lived in a Lear jet for a year,” says Satterwhite, who learned the inner workings of life on the road.

“The governor would walk into the room and everybody looked at him because his power took over the entire room” he remembers. ​“When someone is famous, whether you’re a politician or a movie star, there’s a magnetism and power. I had access to anything and everything, and I liked the Governor. We stayed friends up until he died.”

What started off as exciting lost its edge after a year. Knowing the only way to get the story was to go independent, Satterwhite embarked on a decade long freelance career, working for magazines including People, Playboy, Sports Illustrated, and Time, among others.

Now the photographer looks back at this extraordinary era in Al Satterwhite: A Retrospective at PDNB Gallery in Dallas, Texas. The exhibition brings together scenes from this storied chapter of American life, when long form reportage was the hallmark of legacy media.

Whether photographing actor Paul Newman in his other life as an avid race car driver during the 77 Sebring 12-Hour race in Florida or visiting world champion boxer Muhammad Ali training in Miami Beach gym, Satterwhite brought out the best of the people he encountered.

“It was great because you could establish a rapport,” he says. ​“I spent weeks with Ali so they knew I was always there like a fly on the wall, but after awhile I would disappear. As a photographer, you don’t want them to be conscious of you and play into the camera. You want to catch them doing what they do. I was there to make them look good.”

While Satterwhite did not strike up a friendship with everyone he photographed, he established one with journalist Hunter S. Thompson that was an adventure unto itself. The two first met in August 1972 during the Republican National Convention in Miami Beach. While Nixon was giving his acceptance speech on the last night, Satterwhite scanned the audience with a long lens when he caught sight of Thompson in the crowd. The gonzo journalist immediately sidled up to Satterwhite, struck up a conversation, and built a repartee that went beyond that historic night.

“We stayed in touch. He came down to keep an eye on Nixon, stay out there for a week, and write off expenses on Rolling Stone,” Satterwrite says. ​“He’d call me and I’d drive down to Miami. He’d be at the hotel, out by the pool, table covered with the empty glasses. He was always a character. It was kind of like babysitting a four year old. You had to keep an eye on him all the time.”

Al Satterwhite: A Retrospective” was on view through November 9, 2024, at PDNB Gallery in Dallas, Texas.

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