Tragedy by the Sea, a young couple standing together beside the Pacific Ocean in Hermosa Beach, California

Tragedy by the Sea, also known as Cruel Waves, is a photo showing a young couple, John and Lillian McDonald, standing together beside the Pacific Ocean in Hermosa Beach, California, United States. The image was captured in April 1954 by Los Angeles Times photographer John L. Gaunt, Jr. A few minutes before the image was taken, the couple's nineteen-month-old son Michael had disappeared. The image won the 1955 Pulitzer Prize for Photography.

Background

On April 2, 1954, a 19-month-old boy named Michael went missing along the shore in Hermosa Beach, California. His parents John and Lillian McDonald were photographed standing on the beach after the disappearance. According to Lillian, the boy had wandered out of the family's yard. She called the police and authorities began searching for the boy.[1] The boy was not immediately found and the search was suspended that night.[1] The search went on for days and continued into April 5.[2] Michael's body was not found until April 12, ten days after his disappearance; the boy was located near 4th Street in Manhattan Beach.[3][4] A woman had spotted the boy's body bobbing on the surf near her home, which was more than 1 mi (1.6 km) away from where he had gone missing, and had pulled the body from the water and called the police.[5]

Description

On the day of the boy's disappearance, Los Angeles Times photographer John L. Gaunt, Jr. was at his Hermosa Beach home when he heard a neighbor shout, "Something's happening on the beach!" Gaunt retrieved his camera, a Rolleiflex, and went to the beach. When he approached, he saw the young couple standing by the water's edge holding each other and he captured the image[6][7] before the couple turned and walked away.[4] The image, which Gaunt titled Tragedy by the Sea,[8] was printed in the Los Angeles Times on April 3, 1954. At that time, the newspaper speculated that the boy might have been swept out to sea.[1]

Reception

The image won the 1955 Pulitzer Prize for Photography. The Pulitzer jury referred to the photograph as "poignant and profoundly moving". The image also won an Associated Press Award.[6] The image won first place in the 1954 Los Angeles Press Club's Honor Gallery of News Photos. It also won a special citation from the managing editors of the Associated Press.[9] The Associated Press Best Spot News award occurred before the Pulitzer award and they referred to it with the title of Cruel Waves.[10][9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Beach Home Toddler Feared Drowned in Sea". The Los Angeles Times. April 3, 1954. p. 1. Archived from the original on October 5, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Hunt Continues for Baby Swept Away by Ocean". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. UPI. April 5, 1954. p. 1. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Drowned Baby's Body Recovered". Daily News. April 13, 1954. p. 15. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  4. 1 2 Fischer, Heinz-Dietrich (2015). Key Images of American Life: Pulitzer Prize Winning Pictures. Berlin, Germany: LIT Verlag Münster. p. 194. ISBN 978-3-643-90518-5. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  5. ↑ "Body of Baby Lost in Surf Finally Washed Ashore". The Los Angeles Times. April 13, 1954. p. 1. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  6. 1 2 Thurber, Jon (October 27, 2007). "John L. Gaunt Jr., 83; Times photographer". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 11, 2011. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  7. ↑ "1955 Pulitzer Prizes". The Pulitzer Prizes. Archived from the original on December 18, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  8. ↑ Fischer, Heinz Dietrich; Fischer, Erika J. (2000). Press Photography Awards, 1942–1998: From Joe Rosenthal and Horst Faas to Moneta Sleet and Stan Grossfeld. Berlin, Germany: Walter de Gruyter. p. 33. ISBN 978-3-598-30184-1. Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  9. 1 2 "Times Man Wins AP Photo Award". The Los Angeles Times. February 4, 1955. p. 2. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Jack Gaunt Wins AP Photo Prize". Asheville Times. Associated Press. May 10, 1955. p. 5. Retrieved January 3, 2024.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.