At Ground Zero Exhibit, More Clinton Than Giuliani

A September 11, 2001 commemorative exhibit of 1,300 photographs at the New-York Historical Society includes only three photos of Mayor Giuliani, but five pictures of President Clinton, prompting some grumbling among fans of the mayor.

Some of the photos portray Mr. Clinton at the ground zero site, while none of the pictures of Mr. Giuliani do.

A spokeswoman for the Historical Society, Laura Washington, defended the exhibit, saying that of the 4,000 images the institution had to choose from, only three of them featured Mr. Giuliani.

"There was no political motivation behind our decisions," she said told The New York Sun yesterday.

The New-York Historical Society received 6,200 photograph submissions of September 11 and related events afterward from individual photographers. Of those, they had permission to print 4,000.

According to officials at the institution, the curator and head of prints, photographs, and architectural collections, Marilyn Kushner, was in charge of winnowing down the pool of photographs to the 1,300 that were ultimately presented. She declined to be interviewed.

The scarcity of ground zero Giuliani photos nevertheless has some visitors to the museum talking.

Joseph Morrone, a Manhattan resident, who saw the exhibit about two weeks ago, said, "Giuliani was Time Magazine's Person of the Year and it's kind of like he doesn't exist. The least they could do is put a little section of him."

A former Republican Staten Island Assemblyman and Giuliani supporter, Robert Straniere, said he'd like to see more photographs of the former mayor in the exhibit "It is a subtle attempt to diminish and downplay the leadership that Rudy Giuliani demonstrated on 9/11 and the days that followed," Mr. Straniere said.

The Giuliani and Clinton camps both declined to comment.

In addition to the three photographs of Mr. Giuliani and the five of Mr. Clinton, there is also one of Ms. Clinton with her husband walking through a large crowd.

Telecommunications executive Bernard Schwartz and his wife Irene — major Democratic donors who are closely tied to the Clintons — are providing the majority of the funding for the photographic montage. In August, the couple hosted a $1,000 a head fund-raiser for Senator Clinton's presidential bid at their vacation home in Southampton.

Mr. Schwartz's office referred calls to the Historical Society.

The accusation of an anti-Giuliani, pro-Clinton tilt in the exhibit is a somewhat surprising turn of events, because the New York Times and some former trustees of the society have portrayed the museum as tilting to the political right recently in response to the accession in its volunteer leadership of several conservative financiers, who include some investors in the New York Sun.

The exhibit is on display through December 31.