COUNTDOWN TO ETERNITY is a photographic tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. documenting the last year of Dr. King’s life. The photographer, Benedict J. Fernandez has captured some of the most iconic images of the 1960’s and beyond. A distinguished educator, in the 1970’s he established the Photography Departments at the New School and Parsons School of Design and created the Leica Medal of Excellence. He also received numerous awards including Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellowships and has published a number of books.
The COUNTDOWN TO ETERNITY exhibit has travelled around the world including Europe, Moscow, and 27 countries in Africa and is in the collection of the Smithsonian, The Museum of the City of New York and has been shown in Universities and Galleries around the country. While photographing a civil rights march in Central Park in 1967, Benedict met Dr. Martin Luther King and eventually became the only photographer allowed to photograph King at home, capturing intimate moments with his wife and children.