"JFK Ticker Tape Parade"

Object number2011.034.0014

Date1968 - 1985

ClassificationsArt

Artist Bernadine Stetzel

ObjectArtwork

Credit LineBernadine Stetzel Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions24 x 36 in. (61 x 91.4 cm)

Terms

Collections

DescriptionOil painting on canvas created by artist Bernadine Stetzel that portrays John F. Kennedy in a motorcade appearance in Los Angeles. Artist Stetzel described this piece as follows: "On his final appearance in Los Angeles, just before the national elections J.F.K. is deluged with confetti and streamers." 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 Commentary

Exhibit label: In this painting of a ticker tape parade that took place shortly before he accepted the Democratic nomination for president, Senator Kennedy is shown shaking hands with both white and African American supporters. Stetzel wanted to demonstrate Kennedy’s desire “to bring togetherness as far as [race relations] were concerned.”