RICHMOND — Donald Rutledge, a renowned photographer whose images of mission activities are familiar to Baptists around the world, died Feb. 19 at 82.
Don Rutledge (NAMB photo by Ken Touchton)
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Rutledge’s work was published in magazines and books around the globe, winning more than 400 awards. He worked for the Black Star photo agency in New York for more than 30 years, as well as the Southern Baptist Convention’s Foreign (now International) Mission Board and Home (now North American) Mission Board.
He began his career as a photographer for Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin in 1959. The book chronicled the experiences of Griffin, who was white, as he travelled the Deep South disguised as a black man. Rutledge joined Griffin, whose skin was darkened by medication and makeup, on the journey.
Rutledge was known for his striking photos of faces and cultures, such as this one (right) of an Eskimo family inside the Arctic Circle outside their home in Alaska. (NAMB Photo)
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Stanley Leary, a Baptist free-lance photographer who worked closely with Rutledge, once said his photographs “concentrate on the emotions of people.”
“No matter where you are located in the world, people’s emotions stand above language and cultures,” said Leary. “These small moments of expression communicate across our language barriers …. [Rutledge’s] style of photography was not bound by words or cultures.”
Survivors include his wife, Lucy Rutledge; two sons, Mark and Craig; five granddaughters; and a brother. A memorial service will be held Feb. 23 at 11 a.m. at Winfree Memorial Baptist Church in Midlothian, Va. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Winfree Memorial Church to support global missions.