"A Warm Greeting"
Object number2011.034.0058
Date1968 - 1985
ClassificationsArt
Artist
Bernadine Stetzel
ObjectArtwork
Credit LineBernadine Stetzel Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions16 x 20 in. (40.6 x 50.8 cm)
Collections
DescriptionOil painting on canvas created by artist Bernadine Stetzel that depicts Mrs. Kennedy greeting the crowds at Love Field in Dallas.
Artist Stetzel described this piece as follows: "The Presidential party is greeted warmly by residents of Dallas."
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: Mrs. Kennedy is shown here carrying the bouquet of red roses presented to her by the wife of the Dallas mayor, greeting the crowd along the fence line at Dallas Love Field on November 22, 1963. This painting is a strong example of one of Stetzel’s artistic strengths, the ability to depict individual personalities in crowd scenes.
