Briscoe Center Acquires Archives of Renowned Photojournalist Matthew Naythons
Naythons’ work chronicled war and revolution; featured in Time, Newsweek
December 12, 2012
Matthew Naythons
Naythons, Vietnam, 1975
Naythons, Nicaragua, 1979
AUSTIN, Texas — The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History has acquired the archives of award-winning TIME magazine photojournalist Matthew Naythons. This substantial collection, which documents iconic historical events such as the Vietnam War and the Nicaraguan Revolution, offers a window into the processes and rhythms of late 20th century photojournalism.
“Matthew Naythons’ work captured many of the events and themes paramount to our understanding of the 20th century’s final quarter,” said Don Carleton, executive director of the Briscoe Center. “We thank Dr. Naythons for enriching the Briscoe Center’s already unrivaled photojournalism holdings.”
After graduation from medical school, Naythons combined the practice of emergency medicine with travel around the globe as a photojournalist for SIPA and Gamma photo agencies, and publications including TIME, Paris Match, Newsweek, National Geographic and the Sunday Times of London.
“I am delighted to be able to partner with the Briscoe Center,” Naythons said, “and place my photographic life’s work in a distinguished location where it’s not only secure, but freely accessible to future researchers, historians and the public. It is also a great honor to have it reside in good company, as part of a collection that includes the work and memorabilia of so many of my old colleagues and heroes from the worlds of journalism and photojournalism.”
During his career, Naythons covered such stories as the Yom Kippur War, the Fall of Saigon, the Jonestown Suicide/Massacre, and the Central American civil wars. His coverage of the 1979 Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua led to his collaboration on the film Under Fire. Naythons’ later work as founder and President of Epicenter Communications, amply represented in the archive, includes publication of PF Bentley’s book on President Clinton’s 1992 campaign; Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama’s official inaugural books; Sarajevo: Portrait of a Siege; The Face of Mercy: A photographic History of Medicine at War; and The Power to Heal, a multi-photographer project on medicine around the world.
The Naythons archive features more than 60 linear feet of transparencies; negatives; prints and videotapes in addition to paper records, correspondence, floppy disks, CDs, CD-ROMs and DVDs. The new addition enhances the scope of the Briscoe Center’s rapidly growing photojournalism and news media holdings. Already one of the largest in the world, the Briscoe Center’s holdings in photojournalism includes the work of Eddie Adams, David Hume Kennerly, Diana Walker, Flip Schulke, and Wally McNamee furnishing researchers with unparalleled visual resources on the history of news media in the 20th century.
Access the Matthew Naythons Finding Aid at the Briscoe Center.
