the civil war time frame exist right here. they are accidents of survival, and they are here to impart understanding and appreciation for a different time and different people. you can watch this and other american artifacts programs any time by visiting our website, c-span.org/history, and watch "american artifacts" every sunday at 8:00 a.m., 7:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span 3. coming up next, three photographers who were on the other side of the lens from betty ford, barbara bush and laura bush. they recall their days in the white house and the images that chronicled the lives and works of this first lady such as this private moment captured as mrs. ford gazed towards her husband's west wing office. this program is about an hour. >> i'm jodie steck, and i'm the av archivist at the george w. bush library. if i make a mistake, my boss is in the front row, and not to mention my former bosses.

anyway. i have been a photojournalist probably longer than many of you have been on this earth, and the one sure thing i know is that anybody can pick up a digital cameras, but it takes a very special person to capture the moment. the three people i'm about to introduce do just that. carol powers, when you look at her images, see her images on the screens, you're going to feel the moment when mrs. barbara bush is sitting on the chair with millie watching her husband play tennis. you're going to feel that moment. you're going to feel the moment and feel the emotion when she hugs her arms around an aids child. susan sterner, you're going to feel the tension in the air when mrs. laura bush arrives in afghanistan for the first time.

you're going to feel the emotion, the compassion that mrs. bush has when she is in a classroom with kids, and the kids are up around her legs giving her, just wrapping their arms around her. david kennerly, david hume kennerly, we know him in the business as kennerly, he has been around -- i think he photographed martha washington, i'm not quite sure, and if he didn't photograph martha washington, he'll tell you that he did, so be very careful. his name is synonymous with excellence. he has photographed more first ladies i think than there really are. and it's -- and it's a pleasure to welcome them. i have -- i have one rule that i always say to my staff when i'm hiring photographers. i want a photographer who thinks with their hearts, with their heart, not with their heads, so

before i introduce these photographers who are very special hearts, i also want to say hello to mr. mark updegrove who is going to be the moderator. he's the director of the lyndon baines johnson presidential library and museum, and he himself is a journalist and an acclaimed author, and i hope he asks these guys the toughest questions, so without any further adieu, please welcome mr. mark updegrove, miss susan sterner, miss carol powers and mr. david hume kennerly. >> well, thank you. it's a great honor to be here. the great ancel adams photographer once said a photograph is usually looked at but rarely looked into. today we have the opportunity to look into the photographs of

three great photographers and what they say about three extraordinary first ladies, two of whom are in the first row. betty ford, barbara bush and laura bush, and i have the easiest job of anybody today because i get to run this panel like tom sawyer painted his fence. i get my friends to do it, and they are going to share some of their work with you and talk about the extraordinary images that they have taken, and the first one up at this podium will be david kennerly, and i'll tell you a quick story about david kennerly which happens to be true. it involves henry kissinger with who david worked at the ford white house, and i was hosting a lunch for dr. kissinger some time back, and i mentioned david's name. and dr. kissinger said in that sort of inimitable voice, david

kennerly is the greatest photojournalist of the 20th century. i said, wow, that's high praise. he said i know this because david kennerly told me that david kennerly is the -- [ laughter ] so in the words of david kennerly and henry kissinger, let me welcome to the podium the greatest photojournalist of the 20th century, david kennerly. >> that's good. i don't know how to top that one. i'm going to show some pictures. i was president ford's photographer. it's great to be here with the bush women, barbara and laura, who i've photographed many times. i have -- i'm not taking away from my colleagues, but i did include one each of you in this presentation. i was -- i actually have a first lady picture i just took on

friday, not in this country, and she's not an american, and if i press this, is this going to start? wow, magic. this is sophia bartelli, the first lady of haiti. i was just in haiti all week. i know president bush has been down there, and it's a place that needs help certainly and will for a while, but i thought i would include her in. i was down for a -- there's a group called vital voices. it was started by hillary clinton, women from america, particularly entrepreneurs teaching women in the third world how to start businesses and all that. i was down for that. skipping back in time, jacqueline onassis, jacqueline kennedy onassis, taken in new york in 1970.

i was a young boy when -- when kennedy was -- when president kennedy was assassinated, but i worked with her son on "george" magazine, john jr., who became a good friend of mine, and the first first lady i really photographed though was pat nixon. this was in 1970 in washington, d.c. going to a -- it was a school in washington, and i never really got to know her nor did i really get to know her husband that well, but this is a picture of the two of them leaving some event, and i like the light. she was always very nice to the photographer. the world is divided into two kinds of people for me, the photographers and then those trying to keep them from taking pictures, and so pat nixon was very good with the photographers. her husband, not quite so much,

but my first first lady was really a true friend was betty ford. mrs. ford and i became really close friends. i was treated like one of the family there during their white house, and, of course, we were talking about how lady bird johnson came to the white house. it's not quite as horrible a situation but betty ford became first lady really overnight almost, and they hired me as their white house photographer when i was 27 years old, and i was a little bit older. now, these are the kinds of pictures that i'm sure the -- the -- most first ladies don't want to be photographed like that nor does anybody, but mrs. ford and president ford had such an incredible sense of humor and a lack of vanity about themselves. this was, by the way, taken in

the -- in the kitchen of their home in alexandria, virginia, which is a very modest two split-level place, and they lived there for almost two weeks after they became -- after he became president, and this is lady bird johnson and mrs. ford and the two johnson girls. they are being shown the white house living room -- white house bedroom, and when i did an edit for this book i did on the ford presidency, i looked back, and i wonder, i forgot that suitcases in the picture, this is right before mrs. ford went out to bethesda naval hospital where she ultimately had a mastectomy, and she never told mrs. johnson that she was going there that day, and this is in the hospital with bob hope. bob hope's name comes up quite a bit. in fact, he was the one who said president ford made golf a contact sport, and -- and

mrs. ford recovered nicely from this operation. probably i know she's best known for the betty ford center, people with alcohol and drug dependency, but i -- i can't imagine how many women's lives she saved. happy rockefeller was one of them who got a test because of her. she brought that whole problem out into the open. this is -- we had a very close relationship. this is in the white house solarium. mrs. ford is trying to strangle me yet again for -- she had to put up with a lot from me, and the queen of england, the queen is a recurring theme here among the first ladies and the social secretaries. a very quick story. this is on the second floor of the white house. as queen elizabeth and the prince were going up in the

elevator with the fords before the state dinner, the elevator door opened on the family quarters, and jack ford was standing there without a shirt on. one of the sons, he was looking for cufflinks in his dad's drawer and it was very embarrassing. president ford said to the queen, see, really apologized for that. she said don't worry, we have one at home just like him. and mrs. ford was really the cheerleader of the family, as all the first ladies are. i mean, the guys go out and create all this trouble and win and lose elections, and the first ladies are there to make the kids feel better certainly, but this is right after president ford resigned or lost the election to jimmy carter, was in the oval office. they would go outside. mrs. ford would actually read the announcement conceding the election.

and mrs. ford always felt like -- she liked this picture because she felt it showed her like kind of a bird in a cage on one hand kind of looking out at the world, and in this case down towards the west wing. both the fords gave mow total access to their life, so i really spent a lot of time upstairs and downstairs, was able to get all that. my favorite picture of mrs. ford after she died ran extensively was the day before they left the white house on january 20th, 19 -- january 19th, 1977. we were walking around in the west wing. she was saying good-bye to people. we walked by the cabinet room, and there's this empty cabinet room table and portraits of, you know, long gone presidents on the wall and a real male domain, and she said, you know, i've always wanted to dance on the cabinet room table, and somebody

said did you ask her to do that? i said it never crossed my mind. not only did i not ask her, and so she took off her shoes and she -- she -- i'm guessing that the two of you don't have anything like this, right? i'll ask eric draper about it. this could be one in a lifetime, but she was a former martha graham dancer, great sense of humor and all that, and this was really my favorite moment, and it shows who she was. you know, i'll go through very quickly through some others. this is mrs. carter the next day. mrs. ford did not tell her that she danced on the cabinet room table. the carters in '76 right before the election process. ronald reagan i covered with president and mrs. reagan for "time" magazine. this is in the solarium, the same room that mrs. ford tried to kill me in.

and their relationship was very good. this picture never was published because the editors of "time" thought it was too schmaltzy, and i said they are schmaltzy people. you have to understand they really do this kind of stuff. nobody was making it up, so -- and this is my favorite mrs. bush photo. now, to barbara bush's credit, she has this hanging in their house in kennebunkport. i know that because i've seen it up there, and -- but this was at the president ford library rededication, and i don't even know if you remember what you said to your husband, the colorfully attired one in the striped vest. she said, george, won't you ever

grow up? thankfully he has not. this is hillary rodham clinton. i'll do a close-up. hilary rodham in 1974. let's go forward, and this is 20 years later as first lady. the first picture was taken in the house judiciary committee room where she was a lawyer, and this is the night before the inauguration in 1993, and the couple in '96 on the campaign train. the next photo, any first lady is going to identify with, an i've never shown it. this is the first time, and if secretary clinton sees it she will summarily execute me, but this is her listening to her husband. [ laughter ] so let me guess. you've heard this one before,

right? but hillary clinton is a great person, and i -- i think she's terrific and has a fabulous sense of humor, and this picture i took of her i asked her to sign if she was still talking to me after she saw it, and she signed on it dear david, i just wanted you to know that i was thinking about you. and this was really the most dramatic moment. certainly before the presidency in the bushes' life. this is election night in the mansion, and mrs. bush and governor bush and jeb, whose life is passing before his eyes in the florida vote count and president bush on the phone in the background, but this was about ten minutes before al gore took back his concession which i just wish i would have heard that phone call but i didn't, so we've read about it, and the

obamas. this is inaugural night. i did the official -- produced the official inaugural book for the committee. i also did the two bush books and two clinton books with my team of photographers, and -- and some photos of michelle obama. this is after eight presidential balls. this is also the first ladies will appreciate this. two more balls to go, back stage, and in the elevator. this is a high school prom picture i think, kind of a gallant moment. this is the night of the inaugural. and then six first ladies at the reagan library dedication with pat nixon. i think this was the last public appearance that mrs. nixon made before she died with lady bird, and then at the george bush library opening. this is -- hillary is first

lady, and they were all watching the presidents talking and at the ford funeral where president bush and those three first ladies. this was in palm desert. thank you. >> great job. >> well, this is unfair that i have to follow you, david. >> i intended it. thank you so much. >> clearly one of the most memorable events for mrs. bush was her commencement address at wellesley. aside from all the brouhaha and protests that were stirred up. it was a great success. i'm sure everybody remembers the quote that at the end of your life you'll never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict, closing one more deal, but you will regret time not spent with

a husband, child or a parent, and i think this is a code that she lived by. there she is with mrs. gorbachev who came with her to the event and gave her own remarks. in the kremlin with mrs. yeltsin on the left. mrs. yeltsin took us through an impromptu tour of the imperial apartments in the kremlin which were absolutely incredible because they were covered floor to ceiling with these beautiful religious icons, and i don't think the apartments had ever been open to the public before, so that was a real treat to see. on our first foreign trip we were -- went to china here at tiananmen square. i was still learning my way, and i had a slight scuffle with chinese security, and i kept telling them that i was with her and it was okay because i was an official photographer, and then figured out later that all photographers in china are probably official and it meant

absolutely nothing. our first foreign trip, after that we went to seoul, korea s. and i love the juxtaposition of the east and west and holding hands. and in tokyo in the imperial gardens. i think mrs. bush was told to wear comfortable shoes, as you'll note the u.s. kids. the same color this time. president and mrs. bush also met with them. here at their home they had lunch with them. it was a really exciting time because solidarity just won a landslide election in parliament. and then we went to 10 downing

street with mrs. thatcher. i think what she's saying is who is that woman with all the cameras around her neck and why is she in my living room? i had barged my way thinking i would end up in a holding room. but then mrs. thatcher looking out through their cabin on the side there. this is what you would call the family room of the white house. watching the president announce the beginning of the operation with her daughter doro and press secretary anna perez.

and the bushes had invited the reverend billy graham to join them. here in her camis. this is in the saudi desert on thanksgiving day. before the start of operation desert storm. i think mrs. bush was on her fifth thanksgiving dinner at that time. here we were at a beauty salon in new hampshire. that is not helen thomas. i know it looks like her. i'm not that cool. and on the campaign plain with

marvin bush. who is always are fun to have around. here with marvin also we were on a whistle stop tour through georgia. this is several weeks before the election. and after the third debate, everybody comes around and takes pictures, mrs. bush beelined for ross perot because he had made some accusations that the campaign had maligned his family and his doctors and mrs. bush wanted to set the record straight that that was just not true. here she is with her newly adopted son. governor clinton. soon to be adopted son. still governor at the time. it's customary after the

election that the first lady gives a tour to the newly elected first lady in the white house. here she is with mrs. clinton in the queen's bedroom. going over some notes before speech. in america somewhere we get one more hotel room. sorting through children's books that she was giving to her grandchildren in ken any bunk port. and on a bus tour through illinois and wisconsin. obviously a late night trip home. somewhere we were given 3d glasses and being silly on the plane. i like the guy on the right who missed his pair but is willing to join in anyways. every christmas time mrs. bush

visited children's hospital in washington, d.c. here she is holding a young cancer patient. she must have gotten great comfort from the little girl who was probably about the same age as robin. now milly and kenny bunk port relaxing with mrs. bush had already become successful authoress. she had written her book and donated all the profits to the foundation of family literacy. and because she wants it all, she has these guys. which brought great joy to the white house.

now some are braver than others. and we travel tods almost every state in the united states to include hawaii, where we went for the day and back. mrs. bush is tireliless pro moted reading. i love the little girl on the right hand side there. and mrs. bush holding an aids baby. you have to remember a lot of people didn't understand you could hold a baby, hug a child with aids and you wouldn't catch it. that there was a stereo yn type. unfortunately that poor guy only lasted another couple of weeks.

now someone we all know and love. happened to mention she didn't like broccoli. the mother of all america reassured the children that broccoli is good and good for you. she did it with the oval office in the background. which i thought was pretty cheeky. after the election, president bush was honored by the armed services at a salute at ft. myers. it was incredibly moving event. there wasn't a dry eye anywhere to include the press that had tears running down their eyes.

but then life takes funny turns. we have governor bush and governor bush and president bush and who knows the guy in the background, what he's going to add to it. and life goes on. this is after the election at kenny bunk port. the president is going off to work. which brings me back to the speech that i read over and over again. also one of the other things that mrs. bush said in the speech. you have to stop and look around or else you'll miss it all and most of all to remember to find a joy in life. thank you.

[ applause ] >> good afternoon. thank you to everyone for being here. with my last day of work with mrs. bush in the spring of 2005, when we went on an unannounced trip to afghanistan. i started after a two-year fellowship in brazil. and looking into how government policies affected the lives and status of women. i didn't think i learned everything. what i learned was the great lesson of my life. oe