Applewhite Donates Pulitzer-winning Clinton Photo

AP senior photographer J. Scott Applewhite presented one of his two Pulitzer Prize-winning photos to the Club on Dec. 17 at an NPC Photography Committee meeting.

The photo, which Applewhite described as from “the cave-painting stage of digital photography,” shows President Clinton walking in the Rose Garden on Dec. 11, 1998, to make a short statement on his impeachment inquiry.

Applewhite’s gift is the fourth Pulitzer Prize-winning photo presented to the Club, all arranged by member Marshall Cohen. Applewhite’s photo was the first digital image to win a Pulitzer Prize.

Applewhite's primary assignment has been the White House, where his coverage of Presidents Carter, Reagan, Geroge H.W. Bush, Clinton, and George W. Bush has given him a front-row seat on history.

The Clinton photo Applewhite presented to the Club was his second Pulitzer Prize photo, and he was also nominated for a third. Applewhite told the Photo Committee that his Pulitzer photos were not planned, but in part depended on being at the right place at the right time.

The Applewhite photo will be hung with the collection of other Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs that now hang in the hallway that leads to the Fourth Estate Restaurant.