American Visionary: John F. Kennedy’s Life and Times On View June 23, 2017 – January 7, 2018

Selected PR Images

A new exhibition commemorating President John F. Kennedy’s private life and public trajectory brings together images from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, Getty Images, private collections, and the Kennedy family archives that capture public and private moments from Kennedy’s life. The exhibition is one of the most exhaustively researched collections of Kennedy photos ever assembled. Some of the photographs on display are iconic; others have never before been published. The exhibition is based on the new book JFK: A Vision for America by Stephen Kennedy Smith and Douglas Brinkley.

Please note: All images must be accompanied by the complete photo credit as listed with the image. No photos may be used on social media. Only five photos may be used in a single article. To request permission to use more than five images, please contact [email protected].

Photo booth, portrait, 1953. Photo credit: (Courtesy John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum) Contact [email protected] to request to use more than five images.

Newly married, the Kennedys posed in an automated photo booth, possibly taken during their honeymoon. Before accepting his marriage proposal, Jackie, an avid equestrienne, confided to a friend that she might actually be marrying a man who was allergic to horses, something she would normally never have considered.

Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts, 1957. Photo credit: © Philippe Halsman (Courtesy Magnum Photos) Contact [email protected] to request to use more than five images.

Kennedy’s experience on congressional committees while serving as a U.S. representative and senator helped him develop and refine the ideology that would lead his presidential campaign.

With daughter Caroline, Georgetown, Washington, D.C., March 25, 1958. Photo credit: Ed Clark (Courtesy The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images) Contact [email protected] to request to use more than five images.

Two years before JFK announced his presidential run, the North American Newspaper Alliance broke the news of Jackie’s pregnancy, writing: “A vital element has been added to the well-planned and generously financed campaign to make Senator Jack Kennedy president of the United States.”

An “unofficial” campaign visit to Coos Bay, Oregon, 1959. Photo credit: Jacques Lowe (Courtesy The Jacques Lowe Estate) Contact [email protected] to request to use more than five images.

By the time Kennedy formally announced his presidential run in 1960, he had been campaigning for his party’s nomination for nearly three years. This was a strategic and necessary effort; he was considered a long shot in a crowded field of favored Democratic competitors.

Kennedy boards the Caroline, 1960. Photo credit: Jacques Lowe (Courtesy The Jacques Lowe Estate) Contact [email protected] to request to use more than five images.

Kennedy’s private plane, named for his daughter, was purchased by Joe Sr. for the 1960 presidential campaign. The family’s tremendous resources gave Senator Kennedy a distinct advantage in seeking the presidency.

Senator Kennedy’s return home to Barnstable Municipal Airport, Hyannis, Massachusetts, July 1960. Photo credit: Paul Schutzer (Courtesy The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images) Contact [email protected] to request to use more than five images.

Jackie proved to be a valuable asset during the early stages of the primary, but her pregnancy with John Jr. required her to remain home in Georgetown before rejoining the campaign just a few weeks before the general election.

The Democratic National Convention, , California, July 13, 1960. Photo credit: Ralph Crane (Courtesy The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images) Contact [email protected] to request to use more than five images.

LIFE magazine reported Kennedy’s efforts at the DNC as “steam-rolling the crafty old pros of the party with ruthless efficiency” against a crowded field of six opponents, securing nearly twice the delegates of the second place candidate, Senator Lyndon Johnson of Texas.

Kennedy draws an unintended audience while preparing a speech, Baltimore, Maryland, September 1960. Photo credit: Paul Schutzer (Courtesy The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images) Contact [email protected] to request to use more than five images.

As Election Day approached, Kennedy stepped up criticism of Nixon’s shifting positions: “What is Mr. Nixon, anyhow?” he asked. “The practical progressive? The outspoken conservative? The old Nixon? The new Nixon? The modern Republican? The old fashioned Republican?”

Waiting for election results, Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, November 9, 1960. Photo credit: Jacques Lowe (Courtesy The Jacques Lowe Estate) Contact [email protected] to request to use more than five images.

In front of the TV at Bobby Kennedy’s house the morning after election night, JFK, family, and aides continued to wait for the final call.

The First Couple head to the inauguration ceremony, Washington, D.C., January 20, 1961. Photo credit: Paul Schutzer (Courtesy The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images) Contact [email protected] to request to use more than five images.

JFK’s unofficial campaign for president began as early as 1956. After years of voter outreach, thousands of miles traveled, countless rallies and stump speeches, and a fervid “Stop Kennedy” effort among his rivals, inauguration day finally arrived.

Oval Office, Washington, D.C., January 1961. Photo credit: Jacques Lowe (Courtesy The Jacques Lowe Estate) Contact [email protected] to request to use more than five images.

As captured by many photographers during his tenure in the White House, Kennedy often stood hunched over his desk rather than seated in an effort to alleviate the pain from his problem back.

President Kennedy tours NASA facilities in Huntsville, Alabama, September 11, 1961. Photo credit: Bob Gomel (Courtesy LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images) Contact [email protected] to request to use more than five images.

After the Soviets launched the first successful probe to the moon and surpassed America with the first human orbit of earth, the “Space Race” was declared a top priority; Kennedy promised to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade.

Movers transport Kennedy fashion mannequins, New York City, 1961. Photo credit: Yale Joel (Courtesy The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images) Contact [email protected] to request to use more than five images.

Jackie Kennedy’s influence on popular style was evident as early as 1960. In its inauguration day issue, LIFE magazine wrote: “The Jackie bandwagon…hit a new high last week when 217 fashion editors were exposed in New York to a flurry of mannequins, ads, and style shows.”

Televised address, Los Angeles, California, October 22, 1962. Photo credit: Ralph Crane (Courtesy The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images) Contact [email protected] to request to use more than five images.

President Kennedy draws attention in a department store with a televised announcement confirming the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba― just 90 miles off the coast of ―and the imposition of a U.S. naval blockade.

Arrival in Dallas, Texas, November 22, 1963. Photo credit: Art Rickerby (Courtesy (The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images) Contact [email protected] to request to use more than five images.

At 11:45 am, the president and Mrs. Kennedy arrived at Love Field during a campaign tour. The president was advised not to make the trip but felt it important in order to rally Southern support for his second term.

Jacqueline Kennedy departs the White House on the day of her husband’s state funeral, Washington, D.C., November 25, 1963. Photo credit: I.C. Rapoport, (Courtesy Getty Images) Contact [email protected] to request to use more than five images.

The Kennedy assassination and the dramatic series of events that unfolded immediately afterward were given non-stop television coverage over four days. It was America’s first shared funeral, seen by millions via satellite and broadcast to 23 countries around the world.