Ford Museum Opens “Extraordinary” Photo Exhibit

Sometimes maybe we forget that we have a Presidential Museum just up the road from us, in downtown Grand Rapids. Yes, the President of the United States was from these parts. And with that comes relatively easy access to history and historical documents. Last year, the museum hosted a Rock n' Roll and politics exhibit.

Now, the Museum has opened an exhibition of the work of Pulitzer Prize winning Presidential photographer David Hume Kennerly, titled “Extraordinary Circumstances: The Presidency of Gerald R. Ford”.

Ford was sort of the "accidental president" due to scandal and the resignations of, first, Vice-President Spiro T. Agnew and then, President Richard Nixon..

The exhibit opened Monday with a presentation featuring Kennerly and Ford’s daughter Susan Ford Bales.

“David’s work not only captured historic images of our father’s presidency, but also the personal side of our family. We are blessed to have this beautiful photography available and open for the public to view.” - Susan Ford Bales

The exhibit begins with Ford being appointed vice president and goes to the end of his presidency. The museum says "the exhibit is a collection of behind-closed-door images, including the inner workings of the White House, the Ford family, and the end of Ford’s presidency after losing to Jimmy Carter in the 1976 election."

Kennerly won the  Pulitzer Prize in Journalism at age 25 for his photos of the Vietnam War, the Ali-Frazier fight, refugees from East Pakistan in India, and combat in Cambodia. He became the primary presidential photographer two years later at the age of 27.

The exhibit runs through September 2nd.