The Kennedys: Portrait of a Family

by Richard Avedon, Shannon Thomas Perich, Robert Dallek (Foreword)

In the early 1960s, Richard Avedon was commissioned by Harper's Bazaar to create Observations, a column that consisted of a series of nine photographic essays. The subject of the first essay was John F. Kennedy and his young family, who sat for formal black-and-white portraits just three weeks prior to Kennedy's presidential inauguration. Six images appeared in the magazine's February 1961 issue.

That same day, Avedon created more informal color portraits of Kennedy and his family at the Kennedy compound in Palm Beach. One of these images ran as the cover of LOOK magazine's February 28 issue, with photographs by Avedon inside. Just before the magazine hit the newsstands and was delivered to over 6.5 million people, a set of photographs, comprised mostly of the LOOK images, was released by the White House and appeared in newspapers across the country.

During his lifetime, Richard Avedon donated more than two hundred images to the Smithsonian Institution, including all of the photographs of the Kennedy family sitting for Harper's Bazaar. Smithsonian curator Shannon Thomas Perich has culled more than seventy-five images from that donation for The Portrait of a Family, making these stunning photographs available for view for the first time. Perich's introductory essay—accompanied by a wealth of archival photographs of both Avedon and the Kennedy family—provides historical background on the two sittings within a political and cultural context and critically examines the work of one of the finest photographers of the twentieth century. A foreword by Robert Dallek, distinguished historian and author of the bet-selling An Unfinished John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963, provides authoritative and compelling insight to one of the most fascinating presidents in American history.

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction, Art, History

128 pages, Hardcover

First published October 23, 2007

About the author

People note fashion photography and stark portraits of Richard Avedon, an American.

Richard Avedon captured ideals of celebrity and beauty in the 20th and early 21st centuries to helped to establish a contemporary art form. Avedon developed a distinct, iconic style. While his contemporaries focused on single moments or composed formal images, his lighting and minimalist white backdrops drew the viewer to the intimate, emotive power of the expression of the subject.

Richard Avedon studied philosophy at Columbia University, New York, and served in the department of the merchant marines of the United States before studying with Alexey Brodovitch at the New School for Social Research.

From 1945, he worked and revolutionized the craft even as he honed his aesthetic to 1965. He worked in magazines from Harper's Bazaar and Vogue to Life and Look. Later, he moved into journalism and the art world. His subjects included pop stars, models, musicians, writers, artists, workers, political activists, soldiers, victims of Vietnam War, politicians, and his family.

Curator Paul Roth observes: “In an Avedon portrait, the face maps an intersection: It is a place where the world outside the photograph meets the world inside the mind.”

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York presented solo exhibitions in 1978 and 2002. The Whitney Museum of Art in New York in 1994 mounted major retrospective. The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humblebaek, Denmark, mounted his works in 2007, and the exhibit traveled to Milan, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, and San Francisco through 2009.

Reviews

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the text was interesting, the photography was not. I was disappointed.

[Rodica · Rating 4 out of 5]

$2 find from our awesome yearly library sale. Not as many photographs as one might expect (they describe 2 sets of photos taken on the same day, but only one is really included), with a comprehensive and interesting introduction and overview of Avedon’s work.

[Joelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved looking through this book. It's a gorgeous collection of photos. What I enjoyed the most is that they included the contact sheets for several of the shoots. It was fascinating to me to see which images he chose, why he chose them and how he manipulated them for the final result. Really interesting!

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly readable text elaborating on both the context for the pictures (historical and publication background) and the methods used by Avedon to arrive at the final prints. I was reading this book more for as a reference for Richard Avedon's work than for the Kennedys, so I personally was not at all disappointed.

[Madame Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

These photographs defines what the Kennedy's wanted to project as their image of President and First Lady. Richard Avedon captures the potential and hope of the young couple just before Kennedy was elected to be President.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved looking back at the pictures.

[simi]

jackie o being the main character again

[Aimeslee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am so glad I did not buy this book, instead I spent about an hour perusing it at the library.

I was born in 1956 and my first transcendental memory is his assasination. So of course I grew up idolizing him.

Then, the biographies came out about him. The ones that weren't so flattering and had real info in them instead of the Camelot crap.

Now, when I look at that cover prtrait, for instance, I think to myself, man, she didn't even know how close she came to getting a nasty infection from him and he never realized how damaging his actions in the White House would be to him, his family and the nation.

When I look into his face, I think of all the naked women he had in the White House pool, and I think of Jusith Campbell Exner and how she was his lover and mafiosto Sam Giancana's lover at the same time, again in the White House. And how prudish and stupid the American people are to condemn Bill Clinton for a couple of blow jobs while all the while still idolizing this sex-crazed Kennedy. Man. Oh, and how dumb Obama is to take Kennedy as his "predessesor"? His role model? Did he not read this man's history? Or was that all to get the endorsement of the Kennedys, which is totally old and the past...

Camelot was a story and a myth. So, this book just makes me sad, really.

[Delight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, the photos in this book are beautifully heartbreaking. See JFK with Jackie, 3 year old Caroline, and newborn Jack. Shot by the amazing Richard Avedon, these pictures made me long for Camelot. You can feel the hope of a country and generation in these photos. It's hard to believe that the only one left is Caroline.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Richard Avedon’s photographs, the only professionally taken of the family prior to the inauguration, of Jack, Jackie, Caroline, and newborn Jack Jr.

I appreciate the rareness of the photos and the talen of Avedon. That being said: given the saturated nature of Kennedy books, this is one of the fold. Nothing that new or amazing appears in it.

[Roman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really for Avedon completists. Nothing new or earthshattering but interesting and informative nonetheless about his working methods. The inclusion of the proofsheets gives insight to his work. Not for the Camelot fans. better books for that.

[Judi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pictures were beautiful but I was a little disappointed; I think I put too much on the book. Or maybe with all the raving done with the written part, before the pictures, my expectations were too lofty.

[Allison Tyler Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Richard Avedon---his simplicity of composition and focus on the subject is inspiring.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Richard Avedon is one of my fave portrait photographers. captures the Kennedy family beautifully!!!

[Lee]

The pictures are just amazing