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| Title | Photographer Art French being attacked by blackbird, Seattle, 1943 |
| Photographer | Stewart, Anne
Seattle Post-Intelligencer |
| Date | 1943 |
| Caption | Photographer Arthur French (called 'Happy' because he never looked it) was typical of newspaper photographers of his day in that he had little formal schooling and a strong nonconformist streak. Beginning his career at the P-I in 1923, French made a reputation for his trick photography and composite images. He was able to produce better snowstorm pictures than his rivals by splattering ink on his negatives. French was also known for his snappy comments. Upon his retirement from the P-I in 1946, staffers threw him a party and management gave him a wristwatch; both were sorry to see him leave.
In this 1943 photograph, reporter Anne Stewart swapped roles with French, snapping this shot of him being attacked by a dive-bombing blackbird on 4th Avenue South in Seattle's Industrial District. Reporter and photographer had been drawn to the location to investigate the aggressive blackbird, having been tipped off by firefighters in nearby Fire Station No. 14. French wrote up the story for the May 14, 1943 Seattle Post-Intelligencer, reflecting, "It wouldn't have been so bad if this blackbird had stood on my head and scratched, but all he did was thump and the last time he pecked me with his bill. I'd already been dived on about six times and I said enough's enough." |
| Notes | Handwritten on sleeve: French, Art, P.I. photographer being attacked by blackbird.
Caption information source: P-I exhibit.
Date photograph was published in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer: May 14, 1943. |
| Subjects | Photojournalists--Washington (State)--Seattle; Birds--Washington (State)--Seattle; Cameras--Washington (State)--Seattle; Seattle post-intelligencer (Seattle, Wash. : 1921) |
| Personal Names | French, Arthur E. |
| Places | United States--Washington (State)--Seattle |
| Digital Collection | Museum of History & Industry Photograph Collection |
| Image Number | 1986.5.25639.1 |
| Ordering Information | To order a reproduction or to inquire about permissions contact photos@mohai.org or phone us at 206-324-1126. Please refer to the Image Number and provide a brief description of the photograph. |
| Credit Line | Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle; All Rights Reserved |
| Repository | Museum of History & Industry, Seattle (MOHAI) |
| Repository Collection | Seattle Post-Intelligencer Collection |
| Type | Image |
| Physical Description | 1 acetate negative: b&w; 4 x 5 in. |
| Digital Reproduction Information | Scanned from original negative as a 3000 pixel TIFF image in 8-bit grayscale, resized to 640 pixels in the longest dimension and compressed into JPEG format using Photoshop 6.0 and its JPEG quality measurement 3. |
