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Photograph of courtroom sketch of witness Dr. Manfred Guttmacher at Ruby trial
Photograph of courtroom sketch of witness Dr. Manfred Guttmacher at Ruby trial

Photograph of courtroom sketch of witness Dr. Manfred Guttmacher at Ruby trial

Object number2014.034.0023
Date03/10/1964
ClassificationsArt
Artist Howard Brodie
ObjectCourtroom sketch
Credit LineTonahill Family Partners Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumPaper
Dimensions14 3/4 × 19 7/16 in. (37.5 × 49.4 cm)
Collections
DescriptionPhotograph of courtroom pencil sketch on paper by CBS News courtroom artist Howard Brodie. The sketch shows witness Dr. Manfred Guttmacher during the Jack Ruby trial on March 10, 1964. The sketch shows witness Dr. Guttmacher seated in the witness stand with a microphone positioned in front of him. In front of the witness stand is a seated woman, likely a courtroom reporter, taking notes. Handwritten captions in the upper right corner and the bottom edge of the image respectively read "Dr. Gootmacher, Manfred" and "At beginning of questioning." The artist's signature "Brodie / 3/10/64" is located in the lower right under the sketch. Brodie made the original pencil sketches for CBS News during the trial of Jack Ruby after the judge barred cameras from the courtroom. Brodie then gave Joe Tonahill this photograph of a courtroom sketch as part of a collection of more than 40 in 1964.
Curatorial Commentary
Howard Brodie (1915-2010) was a sports artist for the San Francisco Chronicle when he enlisted in the U.S. Army with America's entry into World War II. He ultimately became one of the best-known sketch artists of the war, frequently published in the weekly U.S. military magazine, Yank, which ran from June 1942 to December 1945. After the war, Brodie spent the next thirty-five years as a courtroom artist, attending several notable trials including the Chicago Seven, Charles Manson and, of course, the Jack Ruby trial in 1964. For the Ruby trial, Brodie worked as a CBS-TV artist correspondent. Mr. Brodie recorded an oral history with the Museum in 2006. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator
Born in 1898, Dr. Manfred Schanfarber Guttmacher passed away less than three years after testifying at the Jack Ruby trial. He died as a result of leukemia on November 7, 1966, at the age of 68. A native of Maryland, Guttmacher served as chief medical adviser to the Supreme Bench of Baltimore from 1930 until his death. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator