Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum honors the life of John F. Kennedy through photographs
SPRINGFIELD – An exhibition of photographs tracing John F. Kennedy’s private life and public trajectory opens at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum on Feb. 15. Some are iconic images of Camelot, while many have rarely been seen before.
“American Visionary: John F. Kennedy’s Life and Times” shows Kennedy as a joyful boy playing in the ocean and a troubled president working in the Oval Office, as a public figure adored by crowds and a father alone with his baby daughter. Jacqueline Kennedy is there, too – as a happy bride, an elegant first lady and a heartbroken widow.
The exhibition, one of the most exhaustively researched collections of Kennedy photos ever assembled, runs through May 19. It 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.
Alan Lowe, executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, called the exhibit “a wonderful snapshot of JFK’s life.”
“We are honored to bring ‘American Visionary’ to Springfield,” Lowe said. “Not only are the photos wonderful, but they offer a chance to reflect on a man who, like Abraham Lincoln, served his nation in a time of great challenge and gave his life in that service.”
There is no extra fee to see the exhibition. It will be included in regular ALPLM admission prices.
The exhibition is based on the book “JFK: A Vision for America” by Stephen Kennedy Smith and Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian who contributes frequently to CNN and the New York Times. Brinkley will speak at the presidential library on April 12. The topic will be his latest book, “American Moonshot: John F. Kennedy and the Great Space Race.”
