Clint Grant

Donald Clinton Grant (August 17, 1916 – April 21, 2010) was an American photographer and photojournalist based in Dallas, Texas.

Grant married Myrtis Ann Halliburton in 1939 after a brief courtship; they had known each other for ten months before they walked down the aisle.

When they met, he worked behind the dairy counter at the local A&P market where she was a customer.

When Grant returned from overseas to Dallas in 1945, all Morning News staff photographers resumed their duties, leaving him without a job.

He was a staff photographer with The Dallas Morning News from 1949 to 1986.

He was particularly known for his images of animals and children.

Grant's photographs were published in numerous newspapers and magazines, including Paris Match, Newsweek and Time; five of his feature photos were published on the back page of issues of Life magazine.

He ran a photography studio until 1949, when a position at the newspaper became available.

During his early years with the News, Grant was one of a group of staff photographers that included Jack Beers, Tom Dillard, Doris Jacoby and Joe Laird.

He gained a reputation for generosity as a mentor while with the newspaper, accompanying many young photographers on their early assignments; one of them later recalled that whenever the Morning News needed a feature photograph, they would send "the trusty Clint Grant" to the zoo to work with an animal.

His evocative photographs often featured animals and children, and his editor said Grant's knack for putting subjects at ease came largely because he "had the patience of Job."

Grant's work also accompanied sports stories.

Grant taught classes in photography in the 1950s and '60s at North Texas University, where he served on the journalism advisory board.

He was also the official photographer for the Dallas Zoo and the State Fair of Texas.

In an interview, Grant said he had his own tricks for making photos, especially of unwilling subjects at the sites of news stories.

He would pre-focus, pretend to not aim the camera, and "shoot from the hip."

He believed that any good photojournalist should have the skills necessary to do the job without needing to use the viewfinder.

One of Grant's photos was blown up to eight feet and displayed for one year in Grand Central Terminal in New York City.

He also photographed the culinary creations of some of the top chefs in Dallas, who all knew Grant and respected his work.

A menu item at the Casa Dominguez restaurant in Dallas was named for Grant.

A photograph of a boxing fan and a fallen fighter was named one of the best sports pictures of 1956.

John F. Kennedy and his running mate, Lyndon B. Johnson, were close to securing their spots on the Democrats' ticket when they took a two-day swing through the Dallas–Fort Worth area in September 1960.

One of his photographs was included in Humor in News Photography, a collection published in 1961.

Grant was assigned to photograph some new cars and laid his hat atop one of the taillights; the resulting image resembled "a Halloween spook, a Martian or the pilot of a satellite."

He was present for the 1961 funeral for three-time House Speaker Sam Rayburn, where he captured former Presidents Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, President Kennedy, House Parliamentarian Clarence Cannon, and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson standing together.

Grant was on assignment in November 1963 to cover President John F. Kennedy's trip from Washington, D.C., to Dallas.

One of his photographs made the front page of the November 22 edition of the Morning News; a copy is believed to be the last thing Kennedy ever signed.

Grant also would make several pictures at Parkland Memorial Hospital within minutes after Kennedy's motorcade arrived following the shooting in Dealey Plaza.

Grant was the recipient of multiple photojournalism awards during his career, including the Medallion for Excellence in Photojournalism.

He retired from The Dallas Morning News in 1986, but continued working in a semi-retired capacity for more than a decade thereafter.

He died in Dallas of heart failure at age 93.

Clint Grant was born in Nashville, Tennessee.

During his time at Vanderbilt University, economic troubles brought on by the Great Depression forced Grant's family to move from Nashville; they settled in Dallas, Texas, where his father was asked to lead the Art Department at the Morning News.

Grant got a job with the Photo Department, but he was drafted into the United States Army before he could report to work.

Grant served during World War II in Europe, where he never used a camera.

A Grant picture published by Life magazine was included in its 1988 compilation Life Smiles Back.

In addition to his feature photographs, Grant was known for his work accompanying hard news stories.

Grant photographed every U.S. president and vice president starting with Harry S. Truman and through the administration of George H. W. Bush.

Two collections of Grant's work have been published: Moments from Life: An Exhibition of Photographs from the Grant Estate in 2000, and 50 Years of the Best Photos of Clint Grant in 2001.

Moments from Life was published to accompany a traveling exhibit of 55 of Grant's images.