"Jacqueline Lee Kennedy" oil painting by Tansill Stough-Anthony

Object number2018.063.0001

Datecirca 2010

ClassificationsArt

Artist Tansill Stough-Anthony

ObjectArtwork

Credit LineThe "Fading Memories: In Honor of JFK" Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

MediumOil on canvas

DimensionsWith frame: 26 3/4 × 22 3/4 × 1 1/4 in. (67.9 × 57.8 × 3.2 cm)

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Description"Jacqueline Lee Kennedy" is an oil painting by Tansill Stough-Anthony in a series titled “Fading Memories: In Honor of JFK.” The painting depicts a black and white image of Jacqueline Kennedy wearing the black mourning veil she wore to her husband's funeral on November 24, 1963. A transparent ghost-like image appears over her right shoulder. The artist's signature is in the bottom right corner of the painting.

Curatorial Commentary

Tansill Stough-Anthony's series, "Fading Memories: In Honor of JFK," began with this painting of Jacqueline Kennedy. Stough-Anthony was taking an art class and explained to the instructor that while color was difficult, she felt that she "knew how to draw really well." The instructor encouraged her to "take the color factor out of it," which resulted in this painting. After showing it to her classmates, all of whom were born after 1963, Stough-Anthony was surprised that everyone in class recognized Jacqueline Kennedy. After that, Stough-Anthony began actively reading and learning more about the Kennedys and the assassination. As she recalled in her 2015 oral history, "I realized then I was becoming connected to the images and the emotions that it evoked inside of me. And that's how the series evolved." -- Stephen Fagin, Curator

Curatorial Commentary

This is one of three paintings in the "Fading Memories" series that was selected for display at the Arkansas Governor's Mansion in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination in 2013. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator