"JFK Campaigning"
Object number2011.034.0009
Date1968 - 1985
ClassificationsArt
Artist
Bernadine Stetzel
ObjectArtwork
Credit LineBernadine Stetzel Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions34 x 26 in. (86.4 x 66 cm)
Collections
DescriptionOil painting on canvas created by artist Bernadine Stetzel that depicts John F. Kennedy campaigning for Congress.
Artist Stetzel described this piece as follows: "Despite his inexperience, Kennedy surprised even his supporters by the magnitude of his victory in the June 1946 primaries for Congress."
An enthusiastic supporter of John F. Kennedy, Stetzel was devastated by the assassination. Shortly after visiting the president’s gravesite at Arlington National Cemetery in 1968, she began work on a series of paintings that depicted the life of the late president. Between 1968 and 1985, with a long break in the middle, Bernadine Stetzel created 71 works that followed John F. Kennedy from his christening ceremony to the eternal flame at his gravesite.
Curatorial CommentaryExhibit label: Several of Stetzel’s paintings portray John F. Kennedy’s life, naval service and early political career prior to the 1960 presidential campaign. This work depicts Kennedy’s run for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1946. Despite no previous political experience, the twenty-nine-year-old war hero won by a large margin.
