Aid from the Padre June 2, 1962
Photo by Hector Rondon 1933-1984
Tear sheet of photograph

As no one had yet reported the exact details of the murder when Rockwell began his painting, he borrowed from Hector Rondon’s 1963 Pulitzer Prize-winning news photo “Aid from the Padre” for the pose of Michael Schwerner holding James Chaney. Rockwell later wrote a note to himself to remember to tell Look art director Allen Hurlburt he had used Rondon’s photo.
Odds & Ends
First published in 1962 in the newspaper La Republica, this photo of Father Manuel Padilla holding a wounded soldier was taken by photo-journalist Rondon during a revolt against the Venezuelan government at Puerto Cabello Naval Base, Caracas.