--- description: 'To be in any group of people that includes Nelson Mandela is the greatest honor I could ever ask for' title: James Nachtwey Receives Top Spanish Honor image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf36e2a01f7b538d7/6988940ba988cabbde6b7ee0/james-nachtwey-spanish-prize-02.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [LightBox](/tag/time-section-lightbox/) ## LightBox Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # James Nachtwey Receives Top Spanish Honor  by [Andrew Katz](/author/andrew-katz/)  ## Andrew Katz Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 19, 2016 9:46 PM CUT  James Nachtwey at 401 Projects gallery in New York City, 2010. James Nachtwey at 401 Projects gallery in New York City, 2010.Christopher Anderson—Magnum Photos  by [Andrew Katz](/author/andrew-katz/)  ## Andrew Katz Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 19, 2016 9:46 PM CUT James Nachtwey, one of the world’s most renowned conflict and humanitarian photographers, has been awarded Spain’s prestigious Princess of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities. He has been a contract photographer with TIME for 32 years. Nachtwey, 68, has devoted his life to bearing witness, documenting tragedies and their aftermath. He began his career as a newspaper photographer in 1976, influenced by pictures from the Civil Rights movement and Vietnam War. He moved to New York in 1980 and got his first international assignment a year later in restive Northern Ireland. In a written announcement about the prize, the jury cited Nachtwey’s commitment to documenting decades of humanitarian crises and wars “without renouncing the ethical principles of the reporter or adorning what the camera sees.” He was called “an insightful witness of human suffering” who has “served as a guiding example for generations of photojournalists worldwide.”  James Nachtwey, covering the Rwandan civil war, carries a baby girl orphaned by the massacres there to a shelter. Zaire, 1994. Gilles Peress—Magnum Photos Reached by telephone, Nachtwey said he didn’t know until Wednesday that he had been nominated. He was surprised Thursday morning to hear he received the honor. “It’s very meaningful for me,” he said. “When you read the list of former recipients, it’s quite humbling because so many of the people on that list have inspired me throughout my life.” Some of the past recipients whom he said “it’s a great source of inspiration to be among” are Stephen Hawking (1989, concord), Václav Havel (1997, communication and humanities), Doris Lessing (2001, literature) and Francis Ford Coppola (2015, arts). “Most especially Nelson Mandela, who is my personal hero,” he said. “To be in any group of people that includes Nelson Mandela is the greatest honor I could ever ask for.” (Mandela received the honor in 1992 for international cooperation.)  James Nachtwey at 401 Projects gallery in New York City, 2010. Christopher Anderson—Magnum Photos Asked what makes this award particularly special, Nachtwey said it’s because it’s not specifically a journalism or photography award—“it’s beyond that.” In 2006, he was [awarded](https://nppa.org/news/2121 "undefined") the Heinz Award in the Arts and Humanities. In 2012, he was [awarded](http://time.com/3786271/dresden-prize-to-james-nachtwey/?iid=sr-link1 "undefined") the Dresden International Peace Prize. For more than three decades, Nachtwey has traveled the globe, focusing on the human plight. From Bosnia to Chechnya, to Eastern Europe and the Middle East and Afghanistan, his images have shattered and provoked and informed. He is a witness. His photographs are evidence.  From "A Look into Hell." July 4, 1994 International issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey  From "Death as a Way of Life." June 14, 1993 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "Slaughter in Slow Motion." August 23, 1993 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "At the Dawn of Liberation." May 2, 1994 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "A Look into Hell." July 4, 1994 International issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey  From "Death of a City." June 24, 1996 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey  From "Images." December 30, 1996 / January 6, 1997 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "Our Work, Our World." May 22, 2000 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey  From "Crimes Against Humanity." February 12, 2001 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "Crimes Against Humanity." February 12, 2001 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "Day of Infamy." September 14, 2001 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "Revenge Comes Calling." April 22, 2002 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "Untangling Jenin's Tale." May 13, 2002 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "Afghanistan Today." June 24, 2002 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "Afghanistan Today." June 24, 2002 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "The Palestinians: An Inside Look at Life in an Embattled Society." August 19, 2002 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "Awestruck." March 31, 2003 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "After the Fall." April 21, 2003 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "A Nation Under Siege." December 15, 2003 International issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "The Best Photographs of the Year." December 22, 2003 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "A Soldier's Life." December 29, 2003 / January 5, 2004 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey  From "Counting the Days." March 15, 2004 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "The Tragedy of Sudan." October 4, 2004 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "The Tragedy of Sudan." October 4, 2004 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "Saving 1 Life At a Time." November 7, 2005 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "The End of Poverty." March 14, 2005 International issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey  From "Saving 1 Life At a Time." November 7, 2005 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "Saving 1 Life At a Time." November 7, 2005 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "The Hidden Killers." June 5, 2006 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "The Forgotten Plague." October 13, 2008 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "The Forgotten Plague." October 13, 2008 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "Out of the Ruins." February 8, 2010 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "Out of the Ruins." February 8, 2010 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "The Birds Of Hope: With A Black Hawk Medevac Unit In Afghanistan." January 17, 2011 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "The Birds Of Hope: With A Black Hawk Medevac Unit In Afghanistan." January 17, 2011 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "The Birds Of Hope: With A Black Hawk Medevac Unit In Afghanistan." January 17, 2011 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "The Day the Earth Moved." March 28, 2011 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "The Day the Earth Moved." March 28, 2011 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "The Poppy Poison." May 9, 2011 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "The Poppy Poison." May 9, 2011 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "When Terror Loses its Grip." May 20, 2011 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "Drugged Out." May 30, 2011 International issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "The Day the Towers Fell." September 19, 2011 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "The Day the Towers Fell." September 19, 2011 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "Japan One Year Later." March 12, 2012 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "Japan One Year Later." March 12, 2012 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "A Day Of Hope Dawns." April 9, 2012 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "The Lessons of Bosnia." April 16, 2012 International issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "The Lessons of Bosnia." April 16, 2012 International issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey for TIME  From "No Home in Sight." February 3, 2014 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey  From "No Home in Sight." February 3, 2014 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey  From "Burma's Shame." July 21, 2014 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey  From "Burma's Shame." July 21, 2014 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey  From "Burma's Shame." July 21, 2014 issue. ©TIME/Photograph by James Nachtwey ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4342277/james-nachtwey-princess-of-asturias-award/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4342277/james-nachtwey-princess-of-asturias-award/"},"headline":"James Nachtwey Receives Top Spanish Honor","datePublished":"2016-05-19T21:46:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:39:51.258Z","description":"'To be in any group of people that includes Nelson Mandela is the greatest honor I could ever ask for'","url":"https://time.com/4342277/james-nachtwey-princess-of-asturias-award/","keywords":["LightBox","Nelson Mandela","photography","photographer","time magazine","James Nachtwey"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf36e2a01f7b538d7/6988940ba988cabbde6b7ee0/james-nachtwey-spanish-prize-02.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Andrew Katz","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/andrew-katz/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf36e2a01f7b538d7/6988940ba988cabbde6b7ee0/james-nachtwey-spanish-prize-02.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"USA. 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