"JFK in Contemplation"
Actress Judy Garland (1922-69) sang the Academy Award-winning song “Over the Rainbow” in the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz. Stetzel read in Vanity Fair magazine that Kennedy and Garland were longtime friends, and the president was known to call the actress over the phone to request a few a cappella bars of his favorite song.
New York Times photographer George Tames (1919-94) captured one of the most famous photographs of President Kennedy in the Oval Office shortly after 5:00PM on February 10, 1961. Entitled “Loneliest Job in the World,” the photo won the 1962 Grand Award and First Prize of the White House News Photographers Association. It inspired this painting and is prominently featured in the Museum's sixth floor exhibition. – Stephen Fagin, Associate Curator