"Caroline Bouvier Kennedy" oil painting by Tansill Stough-Anthony

Object number2018.063.0002

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: 22 7/8 × 27 × 1 1/4 in. (58.1 × 68.6 × 3.2 cm)

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Description"Caroline Bouvier Kennedy" is an oil painting by Tansill Stough-Anthony in a series titled “Fading Memories: In Honor of JFK”. The painting depicts an image of Caroline Kennedy kneeling next to her father's casket in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on November 24, 1963. Most of the painting is done in black and white, but some light-yellow accents appear next to the kneeling figure. The artist signed the painting in the lower right corner.

Curatorial Commentary

Artist Tansill Stough-Anthony drew inspiration for her Kennedy paintings largely from the pages of Life Magazine. For this painting of Caroline Kennedy in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, she deliberately changed a key historical detail by eliminating Jacqueline Kennedy from the image. In addition, as she explained in her 2015 oral history, "Caroline is not faded out like I did on the other paintings because she is not a memory. She's alive and still a part of our world at this time. This is her father's casket. Her little hand, gloved hand, holding onto the railing, her little white socks... this is very much something that I saw growing up Catholic. So, the rest of it is faded out because he is gone." -- 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