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Photograph of courtroom sketch of Joe Tonahill at Jack Ruby trial
Photograph of courtroom sketch of Joe Tonahill at Jack Ruby trial

Photograph of courtroom sketch of Joe Tonahill at Jack Ruby trial

Object number2014.034.0045
Date03/13/1964
ClassificationsArt
Artist Walt Stewart
ObjectCourtroom sketch
Credit LineTonahill Family Partners Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumPaper, Adhesive tape
Dimensions10 3/4 × 12 15/16 in. (27.3 × 32.9 cm)
Collections
DescriptionPhotograph of courtroom pencil sketch on paper by WFAA-TV courtroom artist Walt Stewart. The sketch shows defense attorney Joe Tonahill during the Jack Ruby trial on March 13, 1964. The sketch shows Tonahill in profile, facing the viewer's right with one hand holding a piece of paper containing an image and the other hand pointing towards the photo. Handwritten captions along the bottom edge of the image read "To Joe Tonahill / Walt Stewart / WFAA-TV," "Joe Tonahill," and "they lied." Stewart's signature "Stewart 3/13/64 / Ruby trial" is located in the lower left corner under the sketch. Stewart made the original pencil sketches for WFAA-TV during the trial of Jack Ruby after the judge barred cameras from the courtroom.
Curatorial Commentary
Colorful Jasper, Texas, attorney Joe Halbert Tonahill, Sr. (1913-2001) was co-founder of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association. Although well known in Jasper, Tonahill was lifted to national prominence by his longtime friend Melvin Belli when Belli hired the six-foot-four native Texan as his defense co-counsel. Tonahill recorded an oral history with The Sixth Floor Museum on August 9, 1996. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator