"A Final Tribute"

Object number2011.034.0071

Date1968 - 1985

ClassificationsArt

Artist Bernadine Stetzel

ObjectArtwork

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

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions36 x 26 in. (91.4 x 66 cm)

Terms

Collections

DescriptionOil painting on canvas created by artist Bernadine Stetzel that depicts the eternal flame at President Kennedy's grave site, with the city of Washington, D.C. in the background. The quote is from President Kennedy's inaugural address in 1961. Artist Stetzel described this piece as follows: "President Kennedy's grave at Arlington National Cemetary overlooking Washington, along with a final quote." 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.