Jfk and Art

The years of John F. Kennedy's rise to political power, his administration and his tragic death evoke extraordinarily vivid memories - images of the photogenic young president, his political campaigns, his dramatic oratorical style, his beautiful family and the momentous events of those times. These images, which were broadcast by the new and burgeoning medium of television, published in lushly illustrated magazines such as "Life" and "Look", and reproduced seemingly everywhere in a culture of unprecedented visual abundance, were etched into our consciousness and in turn became part of our collective memory of the era. "JFK and Art" examines how American and European artists, including 20th-century icons such as Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, Norman Rockwell, Jamie Wyeth, Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns, helped to shape the Kennedy legend and legacy. Some of the works featured celebrate the optimism, promise and achievements of JFK, others highlight specific events of the Kennedy presidency (not exclusively in a favourable light), while many more address the tragedy of the assassination and a nation's mourning.
Published to accompany a ground-breaking exhibition of paintings, sculptures and photographs originated by the Bruce Museum, Greenwich, Connecticut and travelling to the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida, the book includes an essay by the highly regarded art historian Dr Kenneth Silver and catalogue entries by co-curators Nancy Hall-Duncan and Cynthia Drayton. This volume, a comprehensive study of how the myth and mystique of the Camelot years coincided with the rise of pop art, reveals the pervasive influence that the Kennedy presidency had on the era's artists, and the themes and strategies that those artists used to create a lasting impression of JFK and his age.