UMBC's Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery presents "Havana: The Revolutionary Moment," on display through April 4. The exhibition, featuring the photography of Burt Glinn, is organized by Umbrage Editions.

"Havana: The Revolutionary Moment" presents a unique collection of never-before seen photographs by veteran Magnum photographer Burt Glinn, recording Castro's historic entry into Havana in January 1959. In his memoir, Glinn describes the combination of chutzpah and journalistic prescience that led him to leave a New York party and hop a plane to Havana on New Year's Eve. Although this snap decision made Glinn one of three western photographers (and the only one still living) to accompany Castro during the revolution, the images have been virtually unseen since then. The photographs--of Castro thronged by his fellow Cubans along the road to Havana, of troops embracing, and of fierce men and women taking up arms in the streets--are full of the revolutionary fervor and idealistic anticipation that characterized this pivotal moment in Cuban history.

Studs Turkel, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Good War and Working, states, “It is an astonishing experience to simply look at Burt Glinn's on-the-spot photographs of Fidel Castro's 1959 triumphal march into Havana. It is a historic moment captured by a courageous master craftsman. What was touched on in the film Godfather II comes fully alive in this remarkable assemblage.”

Burt Glinn first became known for his spectacular color coverage of the South Seas, Japan, Russia, Mexico and California. Collaborating with author Laurens van der Post, he has produced two books: A Portrait of All the Russias and A Portrait of Japan. Glinn was one of the original contributing editors of New York Magazine. He has authored editorial stories for magazines such as Esquire, GEO, Travel and Leisure and Fortune, and published reportage in magazines such as Life and Paris-Match, covering the Sinai War, the U.S. Marine invasion of Lebanon, Castro's takeover in Cuba and the integration of schools in Little Rock.

The photography exhibited in "Havana: The Revolutionary Moment" is published in a book of the same title by Umbrage Editions. Support for the publication and exhibition has been provided by Sidney Kimmel, Andrew S. Karsch, the Southeast Museum of Photography and the Fototeca de Havana. Its presentation at UMBC is supported in part by an arts program grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency funded by the State of Maryland and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Gallery is open Monday through Friday, 12 noon to 4:30 p.m., on Thursday until 8 p.m., and Saturday 1 to 5 p.m. For more information call 410-455-2270.