NEW YORK — Documentary filmmaker Ken Burns won a $250,000 prize for his “significant contributions to advancing knowledge and understanding of American history.”
Burns is the first winner of the David M. Rubenstein Prize for the Advancement of American History, given by The New York Historical. An awards jury, which included Pulitzer Prize winners Annette Gordon-Reed and Jon Meacham, cited Burns’ work that “reflects our highest desires.” Burns’ many subjects include the American Revolution, the Civil War, and the Vietnam War.
“We always ask the question: ‘Who are we as Americans?’ “Ken’s films have brought the nation’s history to more people today than any other work by a single person, shedding light on our virtues and vices,” read part of the jury’s statement.
The award was presented earlier this year by financier, philanthropist and Baltimore Orioles owner Rubenstein.
In a statement released Wednesday via the New York Historical, Burns, 73, said he was “extremely grateful and humbled.”
“Our films are based on the work of generations of historians and archivists and a collective conversation about who we are as a people,” he said. “I’m so lucky to be part of this conversation about a country I love.”