Free entry
“Incredible... The exhibition may be the most compelling and inspiring commemoration of the Kennedy assassination 50 years ago.”
—Pies Worth Star-Telegram
In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the Dallas Museum of Art will bring together the works of art installed in the suite of the president of the Hotel Texas during his fateful trip in 1963. The original installation, orchestrated by a small group of Fort Worth art collectors, was created especially for the president and first lady to celebrate their nighttime visit to the city and included paintings by Vincent van Gogh, Thomas Eakins, Lyonel Feininger, Franz Kline and Marsden Hartley, and sculptures by Pablo Picasso and Henry Moore, among others.
Until September 15, 2013, Hotel Texas: An Art Exhibition for the President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy will bring together the paintings, sculptures and works on paper for the first time in his original collection, highlighting the varied and careful installation of works of art collected for the presidential couple. The exhibition will also reveal for the first time the full story of the presidential installation of Suite 850, which was overshadowed by the tragic death of the president, and will examine the importance of art for both the Kennedys and the communities of Dallas-Fort Worth.
Earn a badge by visiting the Hotel Texas exhibition and registering with the code Friends.
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Listening Hard: Remembering JFK on Record
Visit the C3 Theater to hear calypso, blues, country and corridos recordings produced in the days and months after JFK's assassination. The audio and video installation was produced by Alan Govenar and is exhibited throughout Hotel Texas.
Hotel Texas: Oral Histories smartphone tour
Bring your own device with Internet access (such as an iPhone or Blackberry) to hear first-hand memories of JFK's trip to Texas.
Images (details): Ruth Carter Johnson and Lucile Weiner with Angry Owl by Pablo Picasso, November 21, 1963, courtesy of the University of Texas Library in Arlington, Texas, Star-Telegram Fort Worth collection, special collections; second bedroom (smaller), suite 850, Hotel Texas, Fort Worth, Friday, November 22, 1963; Thomas Eakins, Swimming (formerly The Swimming Hole), Charles M. Russell, lost in a snowstorm —We Are Friends (formerly Meeting in a Blizzard), documents by Owen Day/Dana Day Henderson, photo by Byron Scott;
Angry Owl, 1951—1953, bronze, Pablo Picasso © 2012 Estate of Pablo Picass/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, Gwendolyn Weiner collection; Morris Graves, Spirit Bird, c. 1956, temple on paper, Fort Worth Museum of Modern Art, gift from the William E. Scott
Hotel Texas Foundation: the Dallas Museum of Art organizes an art exhibition for President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy, in association with the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. In addition, the Sixth Floor Museum will provide films and documentation of the President's trip to Texas in 1963. The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalog, published in association with Yale University Press. It begins with an introductory essay by Olivier Meslay entitled “Art is not a form of propaganda, it's a form of truth”, and includes contributions from Scott Grant Barker, art historian from Texas; David Lubin, Charlotte C. Weber art professor at Wake Forest University and author of the much-praised Shooting Kennedy: JFK and the Culture of Images; and Alexander Nemerov, professor of Art and Art History at Stanford University.
The Dallas exhibition is presented by Citi Private Bank. Air transportation is provided by American Airlines.