Hardcover
Publisher: Collins Design
Format: Bargain Price
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 Kennedys: 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 Life: John F. Kennedy, 1917-1963, provides authoritative and compelling insight to one of the most fascinating presidents in American history.
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| Poignant |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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For anyone who has read anything about the Kennedys, this is the ultimate glimpse into what it was like at the begining of the '60's. Shot soon after the election, the photographs illustrate the youth, the promise and the elegance of the incoming First Family.
Knowing their fate makes each picture more poignant and almost heartbreaking. Caroline with her father, tenderly holding her brother or JFK tenderly caressing his son's infant head touch the hearts, even these many years afterwards.
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| Camelot REvisited |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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I have been an admirer of the Kennedys for more years than I care to remember.They are both my heroes
and I have read literally dozens of books on the family.This book was totally captivating.The pictures were taken in Palm Beach before the inaugeration .Its pictures were bittersweet and brought back waves of nostalgia.Caroline as a 3 year old toddler and John Jr as a tiny infant.They brought back feelings of that Golden Era and the hope for what might have been .There were pictures I'd never seen and I would Highly recommend this book.
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| Kinda boring |
| Customer Rating: 3 out of 5 |
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If you're a photography lover like i am then you appreciate great coffee table books. This one just didn't do it for me. For anyone who finds the Kennedy's interesting this is a decent book with average pictures. I wish that i could recommend a different book to look at but this is the only one that i have. Look around, i'm sure there are better out there.
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| photos of the Kennedys |
| Customer Rating: 1 out of 5 |
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Not inpressed and was disappointed in the book. It's good if you want a record of the Kennedys. I found the photos too stiff and lacking in feeling. They left me cold. Avedon could have done better this was handled too much like a fashion shoot.
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| Kennedy Book |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
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I have read nearly every JFK-Jackie book ever printed. This one was beautiful. I especially loved the baby photos of John and Caroline.
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