About the Icon
Reuben V. Burrell was the official photographer of Hampton University for more than 65 years (since 1949), whose memorable images portrayed college life and the evolution of a vibrant African-American community.
A native of Washington, D.C., Reuben Burrell’s fascination with photography began while he was a student at Armstrong Technical High School; he then attended Hampton Institute, graduating in 1947 from what is now Hampton University. After earning a master’s degree from NYU, Burrell returned to Hampton Institute to teach, and later became a part-time photographer for the school. He supplemented his income by becoming a freelance photographer in Hampton and Newport News.
Burrell was largely self-taught - experimenting and practicing different photographic techniques. If he could not find the right camera for an assignment, he would make one. He earned the nickname “One-Shot Burrell” after World War II, for his skill at capturing history in one photograph on the first try - a necessity due to film and flashbulb rationing. His special skills also went into restoring old, fragile photographs from the university’s archives.
Burrell became Hampton University’s full-time photographer and chronicler of campus and community life in the 1960s. The modest and humble man quickly became a beloved figure at the school, capturing the spirit of the college community from behind his camera. In fact, he was known as the griot, a West African term that encompasses both historian and poet.
Preferring black-and-white film, Reuben Burrell’s photographers often remain embedded in viewers’ memories - such as an image of high-stepping band members on parade, and aspiring furniture maker in the school’s wood shop, the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. surrounded by students seeking his autograph, civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks, or famous entertainers at the first ever Hampton Jazz Festival - Nina Simone, Miles Davis, Ray Charles and many more.
Burrell’s work has been on display over the years. In 2010, selected works were featured in an exhibit as part of the City of Hampton’s 400th anniversary celebrations. In 2012, Hampton University, in partnership with the University of Virginia Press, published One Shot: A Selection of Photographs of Reuben V. Burrell.
Burrell passed away on February 3, 2019. We are honored to display some of the monuments, people and moments captured in an instant by Reuben “One Shot” Burrell.
Thank you to Vanessa Thaxton-Ward and Hampton University for loaning these images to the Foyer Gallery.
