Skip to main content
Advanced Search
Photograph of courtroom sketch of Judge J. Frank Wilson during Jack Ruby trial
Photograph of courtroom sketch of Judge J. Frank Wilson during Jack Ruby trial

Photograph of courtroom sketch of Judge J. Frank Wilson during Jack Ruby trial

Object number2019.026.0008
Date03/03/1964
ClassificationsArt
Artist Woodi Ishmael
ObjectCourtroom sketch
Credit LineThe Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza Collection
MediumPaper, Photo
Dimensions8 1/8 × 10 in. (20.6 × 25.4 cm)
Collections
DescriptionPhotograph of courtroom pencil sketch on paper by Associated Press courtroom artist Woodi Ishmael. The sketch shows Judge J. Frank Wilson during the Jack Ruby trial on March 3, 1964. The sketch shows Judge Wilson seated at the judge's bench. A microphone is positioned in front of him, and he looks towards the viewer's right as he holds a cigar in his left hand. A typed caption reads: "(DN13) Dallas, Tex., March 3-- Presided Over Ruby Trial-- This sketch by Artist Woodi Ishmael depicts the scene in Dallas County District Court today as Judge J. Frank Wilson presided over the Jack Ruby Murder trial. Judge Wilson was assigned to the trial after Judge Joe B. Brown became ill. (AP Wirephoto Sketch)." Ishmael's signature "Woodi Ishmael" is located in the lower left corner of the sketch. Ishmael made the original sketches for the Associated Press during the trial of Jack Ruby after the judge barred cameras from the courtroom.
Curatorial Commentary
In addition to covering the Jack Ruby trial as a sketch artist for the Associated Press, artist Woodi Ishmael (1914-1995) illustrated more than thirty-five books, painted portraits of fifty-four Air Medal of Honor winners, served as artist-in-residence aboard the HMS Queen Elizabeth 2, and illustrated for a number of publications, including the Saturday Evening Post, Cosmopolitan and National Geographic. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator
Prior to serving as a Texas Criminal Court District Judge in Dallas County, Joseph Franklin Wilson (1901-1968) was a U.S. Congressman from Texas's 5th district from 1947 to 1955. For the Jack Ruby trial, Judge Wilson's larger Criminal District Court No. 1 courtroom was needed to accommodate more members of the news media. Beginning with jury selection on February 17, 1964, until the verdict was announced on March 14, 1964, the trial was held in Wilson's courtroom on the second floor of the Dallas County Criminal Courts Building. This unusual move allowed Judge Wilson to take a vacation, although he was called in to temporarily preside over the Ruby trial while Judge Joe B. Brown was out sick. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator