George Kalinsky is a photographer. He has been the official photographer for Madison Square Garden since 1966 and also serves as the official photographer at Radio City Music Hall. In November 2010 the National Arts Club awarded him their Medal of Honor for Photography.^[1]

Kalinsky's photos have been in many major publications, such as Sports Illustrated, People, Newsweek, and The New York Times. He has authored ten books.

In May 2009, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum opened an exhibit dedicated to photographs Kalinsky took at some of Madison Square Garden's most legendary concerts.^[2] Many of these photographs are now part of the Museum's permanent collection.

Beginning with the 2010 baseball season, the New York Mets, for whom Kalinsky had been the official photographer, are displaying throughout Citi Field many photographs by Kalinsky.

Biography

Kalinsky was honored with the 2017 Legends Award by the Pratt Institute with a dinner at the Mandarin Hotel in November 2017. The New-York Historical Society had an exhibit "New York through the Lens of George Kalinsky" featuring 80 images of Kalinsky's work from the last 50 years. The show opened to great reviews and will be on extended viewing until July 2018. The museum will make this exhibit part of their permanent collection. In February 2018, Sports Business Journal featured Kalinsky and his career on the front page of their magazine. Frank Sinatra Enterprises is also producing a documentary on Kalinsky's 50-year career.

Memorable Moments

Championships won by New York City teams

• 1970 NBA Finals–Knicks defeat the Los Angeles Lakers for their first NBA championship.
• 1986 World Series–Mets defeat the Boston Red Sox to win World Series.
• 1994 Stanley Cup Finals–Rangers win Stanley Cup–first in 54 years–over the Vancouver Canucks.

Political Conventions

• 1980 Democratic National Convention
• 1992 Democratic National Convention
• 2004 Republican National Convention

Other moments

• The Fight of the Century, March 8, 1971, between champion Joe Frazier and challenger Muhammad Ali
• The Concert for Bangladesh, August 1, 1971
• Elvis Presley's June 9–11, 1972 4 back to back sold-out concerts. One of his photos, taken during that week end, was enlarged in the shape of a three-story, 36 x 72 feet billboard and unveiled at a Times Square building in New York City on April 1, 2008.
• Ali-Frazier II, January 28, 1974
• John Lennon's final live performance, November 28, 1974
• Pope John Paul II's papal mass at Madison Square Garden, October 3, 1979
• Wayne Gretzky's final game, April 18, 1999
• Subway Series of 2000
• The Concert for New York City to honor the victims of the September 11 attacks, October 20, 2001
• From the Big Apple to the Big Easy concert to raise funds for the Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, September 20, 2005

Honors and awards

• 2001 – Recipient of the highest award given by the photography industry (PMDA) as International Photographer of the Year.
• 2001 – Named "Sportsman of the Year" by the National Center for Disabilities, an organization for which he served as co-chairman.
• 2001 – Named "Man of the Year" by Pratt Institute, where he had been a design student.
• 2007 – Inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.^[3]
• 2008 – Recipient of Pratt Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award.
• 2010 – New York City Basketball Hall of Fame inductee.^[4]
• 2010 – Recipient of National Arts Club's Medal of Honor for Photography.
• 2015 – Recipient of New York Knicks' Dick McGuire Legacy Award.^[5]
• 2017 – Recipient of Pratt Institute's Legends Award.
• Served on the Fulbright Scholarship Foundation
• Included in New York Resident's list of top 100 New Yorkers.