The LBJ Library and Museum and the Briscoe Center for American History Present Cronkite: Eyewitness to a Century
New Exhibit Opens May 15 at the LBJ Library & Museum
AUSTIN, Tx. – The LBJ Presidential Library and Museum and The University of Texas at Austin’s Dolph Briscoe Center for American History are pleased to announce the new exhibit CRONKITE: Eyewitness to a Century, opening May 15, 2010, at the LBJ Library.
CBS portrait of Walter Cronkite. Walter Cronkite Papers, Briscoe Center; di_05468.
As one of the nation’s preeminent journalists, Walter Cronkite’s broadcasts brought virtually every major news story of the last half of the twentieth century to the American people. CRONKITE: Eyewitness to a Century is the first exhibit to explore his experiences with some of the most crucial moments in history, including D-Day, the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, and the space race. The exhibit runs until January 3, 2011. The LBJ Library is open everyday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and admission and parking are free.
The exhibit brings Cronkite’s personal and professional experiences to life, featuring never-before-seen items from the Briscoe Center’s collections. It also explores the integrity, accuracy, and devotion to the larger ideals of journalism that made Cronkite one of the most respected public figures in the country.
Walter Cronkite in TV studio at microphone, September 11, 1954. Walter Cronkite Papers, Briscoe Center; di_03927.
“As home to Walter Cronkite’s professional and personal papers, the Briscoe Center is uniquely equipped to create the first exhibit dedicated to the life of this remarkable journalist,” said Dr. Don Carleton, executive director of the Briscoe Center and the curator of the exhibit, who was Cronkite’s oral historian and close friend, “We’re extremely grateful to the LBJ Library for the opportunity to share Cronkite’s legacy in such a wonderful exhibit. Visitors will not only get to know more about Cronkite – they’ll have a front-row seat to some of the most important people and event in 20th Century history.”
“The LBJ Library and Museum is delighted to partner with the Briscoe Center for American History and provide for our visitors a glimpse of the life and formidable legacy of this remarkable journalist,” said Mark Updegrove, director of the LBJ Library and Museum.
Walter Cronkite as UP correspondent during World War II, ca. 1944. Walter Cronkite Papers, Briscoe Center; di_05808.
Behind the design of the exhibit is Riggs Ward, an award-winning firm based in Virginia. With a dramatic, elegant design and strategic use of large-format photographs, the exhibit features carefully chosen archival and material culture items, including personal artifacts, letters, diaries, journals, ledgers, newspapers, broadsides, and other ephemera. Visitors will experience Cronkite’s unmistakable voice and screen presence via the incorporation of film and video footage throughout the exhibit space.
CRONKITE: Eyewitness to a Century was made possible through the generous support of the exhibit’s sponsors: University Federal Credit Union, media sponsor KEYE-TV, and the generosity of The McCombs Foundation.
Cronkite: Eyewitness to a Century
The LBJ Library and Museum
May 15, 2010 – January 3, 2011
Free Admission
Open Daily 9 – 5 (closed Christmas Day)
For more information, contact:
Erin Purdy, The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, 512-495-4692
or Anne Wheeler, LBJ Library & Museum, 512-721-0216
