Image of presidential limousine on Stemmons Freeway going to Parkland

Object number1989.100.0059

Date11/22/1963

ClassificationsPhotographs

Photographer Al Volkland

ObjectNegative (b&w)

Credit LineAl Volkland, photographer, Dallas Times Herald Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

MediumFilm

Dimensions3 15/16 x 4 7/8 in. (10 x 12.4 cm)

Terms

Collections

DescriptionOne original 629 mm negative. Taken by photographer Al Volkland, this image was taken moments after shots were fired in Dealey Plaza. It shows the presidential limousine, followed by a car full of Secret Service agents, speeding north on Stemmons Freeway toward Parkland Hospital. One of the agents in the follow up car holds a gun up high. Secret Service agent Clinton 'Clint' Hill can be seen on top of the back of the limousine, covering the president and first lady in the backseat (not visible).

Curatorial Commentary

Photographer Al Volkland (1915-2007) stopped his car on Stemmons Freeway and stood on the center median looking southeast towards downtown Dallas to take a photo of the Kennedy motorcade. The Texas School Book Depository is clearly visible just above the blurred hood of the presidential limousine. Volkland, who did not know that the assassination had taken place, unknowingly framed his photograph quite poignantly as the limousine raced to Parkland Memorial Hospital. This photograph has generated considerable research attention over the years because it shows U.S. Secret Service agent George W. Hickey, Jr. holding up an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle. A controversial theory going back to the 1970s posits that the fatal shot to President Kennedy's head was caused by accidental "friendly fire" from this AR-15, necessitating a Secret Service cover-up following the assassination.

Al Volkland is sometimes mistakenly identified as a "staff photographer" at the Dallas Times Herald. Volkland actually did not work for the Times Herald at all, though he was a professional photographer with own business, Accident Photo Service in Dallas. Volkland approached the Dallas Times Herald with his image on the day of the assassination. By the morning of Saturday, November 23, the Dallas Times Herald had provided the photo (with credit to Al Volkland) to the Associated Press, and it was subsequently distributed around the world with the initial caption: "Kennedy Sped to Hospital." -- Stephen Fagin, Curator