MUHAMMAD ALI: THROUGH THE YEARS

Nearly six decades in photographs by the staff of The Louisville Courier-Journal on exhibit at the Boyd’s Station Gallery in Cynthiana, Kentucky from Nov. 4 - Dec. 4.

Boyd’s Station Gallery, 203 E. Pike Street, Cynthiana, KY 41031

Gallery Hours: Fridays, 4-8 pm, Saturdays, noon to 6 pm and Sundays, noon to 4 pm

SPECIAL PHOTOGRAPHER CHAT AT BOYD’S STATION GALLERY - SAT, NOV 26 - 3PM

MUHAMMAD ALI: THROUGH THE YEARS PHOTO EXHIBITION

The original photograph used for publication in The Louisville Courier-Journal of twelve-year-old amateur flyweight boxer Cassius M. Clay, from Louisville, Kentucky, who was making his first fight appearance when he appeared on the weekly WAVE-TV amateur boxing program and was billed in the feature match. Clay’s amateur debut was against local amateur boxer Ronnie O'Keefe, little brother of light heavyweight James W. O'Keefe. Clay won the bout by split decision on Nov. 11, 1954. Photograph by Charley Pence, ©The Courier-Journal

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Nearly six decades of iconic and intimate Muhammad Ali images by photographers of the Louisville Courier-Journal showcased at Boyd’s Station Gallery in Cynthiana, Kentucky from Nov. 4 - Dec. 4.

LOUISVILLE Courier-Journal Photographer Q/A, Saturday, Nov. 26 - 3 pm

Boyd’s Station Gallery, the community exhibition space in Cynthiana, Kentucky, and part of the nonprofit organization Boyd’s Station, is proud to showcase nearly sixty years of Muhammad Ali photographs by Louisville Courier-Journal photographers curated from the newspaper archives.  This thirty-image photographic exhibition documenting Muhammad Ali’s early life captured in beautiful black and white images along with remarkable color imagery following Ali’s funeral procession through the streets of Louisville after Ali’s death on June 3, 2016, includes many rarely seen images from the early life and career of “The Greatest of All Time”.

This historic Muhammad Ali showcase of work by photographers from The Courier-Journal photographers spanning six decades is on exhibition at the Boyd’s Station Gallery located at 203 E. Pike Street, Cynthiana, Kentucky from November 4 through December 4, 2022.

The opening reception for the “Muhammad Ali: Through the Years” exhibition will be hosted at Boyd’s Station Gallery on Friday, November 4 from 6-9 pm. 

All events and gallery visits are always free and open to the public.

Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. in Louisville on January 17, 1942, was an American professional boxer, activist, and philanthropist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century and is frequently ranked as the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. Ali remains the only three-time champion of that division.

The great boxing legend and Louisville native Muhammad Ali had a long relationship with the Courier-Journal. From the first photograph as a twelve-year-old flyweight in 1954 until his passing in 2016, Courier-Journal photographers were on hand to document his life. In Louisville, Florida, Los Angeles, Pennsylvania, Michigan, New Jersey, and the Bahamas, in the ring, training in the fog, or waking in the morning at home, Courier-Journal photographers were ever-present. An amazing collection of Ali on film remains from his illustrious career. The results are this very rare and exclusive collection of extraordinarily intimate, intense, and simply stunning photographs.

“Having the opportunity to share these historically significant images here in Cynthiana at the Boyd’s Station Gallery is an honor,” remarks nonprofit Boyd’s Station executive director and USA TODAY staff photographer Jack Gruber.  “Our group of volunteers at Boyd’s Station are so excited this community gallery space continues to draw on friends of the program and other relationships to make these opportunities real for our community to experience and witness up close. We can’t thank the Louisville Courier-Journal enough for allowing us to showcase their photographers’ amazing work spanning six decades of documenting Muhammad Ali and his journey from Kentucky, around the world, and finally back to Kentucky to his final resting place.”

The public is invited to visit the Boyd’s Station Gallery located at 203 E. Pike Street, Cynthiana, Kentucky during normal gallery hours of Fridays, 4-8 pm, Saturdays, noon-6 pm and Sundays, noon-4 pm from Nov. 4 through December 4, 2022.

The opening reception for the “Muhammad Ali: Through the Years” exhibition at Boyd’s Station Gallery is on Friday, Nov. 4, 2022, from 6-9 pm. All are welcome.

A special Louisville Courier-Journal photographer Q/A will be hosted at the Boyd's Station Gallery in Cynthiana, Kentucky on Saturday, Nov. 26 at 3 pm.

This historic Muhammad Ali showcase of images has been curated from thousands of photographs in the Louisville Courier-Journal photo archive down to the photographs of these sixteen Courier-Journal photographers exhibited here at the Boyd's Station Gallery.

The photographers from The Louisville Courier-Journal in this exhibition include:

Muhammad Ali greets Sen. Barack Obama at the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville on Sept. 14, 2006. Obama called Ali "the quintessential American, with the ability to overcome barriers and to remake himself as a symbol of reconciliation." Photograph by Sam Upshaw Jr., ©The Courier-Journal

  • Gene A. Baron

  • Michael Clevenger

  • Dan Dry

  • Tom Easterling

  • Charles Fentress, Jr.

  • R.C Fuller

  • C. Thomas Hardin

  • Al Hixenbaugh

  • Bud Kamenish

  • Bill Luster

  • Pat McDonogh

  • Charley Pence

  • Larry Spitzer

  • Robert Steinau

  • Sam Upshaw Jr.

  • Keith Williams

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