Harry Van Tine, Beacon Native and Founding Member of the White House News Photographers Association

Harry Van Tine (1885-1968) was born and raised in Fishkill Landing (now Beacon).  He lived during an incredible time of change at the turn of the 20th century. Advances in transportation, technology, industry, communication and a host of new inventions transformed our nation and laid the framework for the modern era. Growing up in Beacon, Van Tine was witness to these changes and captured them through his photographic works. His early images from the 1900s were made into postcards and form an important record of life here.

Van Tine started his professional career in 1904 as a reporter and photographer for local newspapers. In 1915, he opened a field office in Washington, D.C. for International News Photo. Spanning six decades, Van Tine worked as a reporter and photographer, traveling throughout North America and Europe and was witness to presidents, and kings and queens and criminals alike.  He embraced modern camera and film technologies working with a variety of media:  newspapers, magazines, radio, still photos, newsreels, and postcards. 

The Beacon Historical Society is hosting The Eyes of History, an exhibition that showcases some of the most compelling or seldom seen images of US Presidents by members of the White House News Photographers Association. The WHNPA was formed 100 years ago by news photographers who banded together in order to protect and promote their interests in visually documenting the business of government.  Van Tine was one of the WHNPA’s founding members who served in the capacity of president, vice president, secretary and treasurer. 

Van Tine’s photographs are exhibited alongside the WHNPA’s panels.  This exhibition captures only a few examples of Van Tine’s journalistic output. Also available for viewing are a collection of over 800 historic photos from and of events in the capital from the 1940s to the 1960s.  The exhibition runs through May 6.

The Historical Society’s Van Tine Archive (newspaper clippings, photos, essays etc,) is available to researchers upon request.  Special thanks to Louise Pittack, Van Tine’s granddaughter, who graciously allowed access to a treasure trove of photographs and memorabilia.

Read an article about Van Tine’s early work during the golden age of postcards. The reprint of this article is courtesy of the Dutchess County Historical Society (DCHS 2020 Yearbook, Volume 99). To learn more about the Society, visit www.dchsny.org.

Listen to a podcast about Van Tine’s life as presented by Diane Lapis. Special thanks to Zach Rogers of Beaconites.

Watch the slide show presentation “Harry Van Tine: Through the Eye of a Camera” presented by Diane Lapis.

Watch Dennis Brack, veteran White House news photographer, as he discusses how news photographers viewed presidents and how presidents viewed them. Dennis is a former president of the WHNPA and has been working in the capital since 1963.