President John Fitzgerald Kennedy spent the last night of his life with first lady Jacqueline Kennedy in Suite 850 of the Hotel Texas in Fort Worth, surrounded by fine art specially chosen for their visit.
The art exhibit, drawn from local public and private collections, was a big deal for Fort Worth collectors.
It served to show "hospitality to weary travelers, to show off cultural competency on the part of the collectors, and to put Fort Worth a notch ahead of its rival sister city, Dallas, where the president was headed next," writes Wake Forest University art historian David Lubin, author of "Shooting Kennedy: JFK and the Culture of Images."
All anyone remembers, however, is what happened the next day, on November 22, 1963, when Kennedy flew to Dallas and was assassinated while driving in a parade.
Now, 50 years after Kennedy's death, the Dallas Museum of Art has gathered the artwork from the president's suite for an exhibition running through September 15.
Curator Owen Day and others involved in the exhibit in Suite 850 based the artwork on the Kennedy's personal tastes and interests.
Living Area, Suite 850, Hotel Texas, Fort Worth Owen Day/Dana Day Henderson Papers Photo by Byron Scott
In Dallas, abstract art caused quite a stir, even causing the art museum there to split for a few years. By juxtaposing Picasso's sculptures with traditional Impressionism from Monet in the suite, Forth Worth snubbed its rival city.
Angry Owl, 1951 – 1953, Pablo Picasso Pablo Picasso © 2012 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Collection of Gwendolyn Weiner
Source: "Art Is Not A Form Of Propaganda; It Is A Form Of Truth"
An oil painting on canvas, Franz Kline's "Study for Accent Grave" symbolizes phonetics in the French language.
Study for Accent Grave, 1954, Franz Kline © 2012 The Franz Kline Estate / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Extended Loan to the Palm Springs Art Museum from the Collection of Gwendolyn Weiner
Source: Cleveland Museum of Art
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