George Tames snapped a single black and white photograph of John F. Kennedy that does not show his face and yet has become emblematic of the American presidency.
        That 1961 picture, later entitled “The Loneliest Job in the World,” shows Kennedy’s back as he looks out a window of the Oval Office, the weight of the world apparently on his shoulders while he braces himself on a table.
    Other photos Tames took of 10 presidents in 40 years as a Washington, D.C., correspondent for the New York Times have become nearly as iconic. An exhibition opening Friday at the Averitt Center for the Arts exemplifies Tames’ photography.
    Tames died in 1994 at age 75, leaving the New York Times and the world a wealth of historic images and his daughter memories of growing up near the center of power.
    Stephanie Tames, a Statesboro resident since 1989 and a journalist and artist herself, has undertaken the labor of cataloging her father’s work and selecting the images for display. 
    “It’s given me an opportunity to go more deeply into his work than I ever had before just growing up with it,” she said. “I’m really just thrilled to be able to share it.”
    “Private Presidential Pathways” will be on display May 6 ­— June 15. Exhibition catalogs will be available for $5, but entrance to the Averitt Center’s visual arts exhibitions is always free.
    For Friday’s debut, “Private Presidential Pathways” will be open to the public from 5:30 —
7 p.m. A children’s educational event about presidential history will be part of downtown Statesboro’s First Friday events.
    At 7 p.m., Stephanie Tames will be on hand to share her father’s stories with Averitt Center
members and their guests at the exhibition’s opening reception.
    Jim Mones, Director of Photo Archives for the New York Times will make gallery remarks. In the Emma Kelly Theater a special DVD of George Tames in a variety of interviews on National Television will be on a continuous loop.
    “Presidential Pathways” is sponsored by Lori Grice Photography and Dr. Larry Hubbard.
    The Averitt Center’s main gallery is open Tuesday-Friday from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.