Jackie Kennedy Exhibit Opens at JFK Museum Today

A special summer exhibit, "Jackie Kennedy – Life on Cape Cod," opens at the JFK Museum in Hyannis today and will run through September 30, 2012. 

The exhibit includes rare photographs, handwritten letters and other artifacts from Jacqueline Kennedy’s time spent in Hyannis Port. It also includes a special display chronicling Jackie’s visit to India in March 1962.

The exhibit opens with a cover article of LIFE Magazine July 20, 1953 entitled “Senator Kennedy Goes A-Courting.” The issue featured a four-page pictorial including images of John F. Kennedy and his fiancée, Jacqueline Bouvier, enjoying a few days of fun and recreation in Hyannis Port.

Other images in the exhibit chronicle Jackie Kennedy’s life on the Cape during the Presidency, when she and her husband and children would frequent Hyannis Port. Most of the images were taken by famous photographers including Cecil Stoughton, Robert Knudsen, Jacques Lowe and Stanley Tretick. 

Artifacts include three hand-written notes from Jacqueline Kennedy; “The White House Long Ago," a painting by Jacqueline Kennedy; and a leather bound copy of "Profiles in Courage," written by John F. Kennedy, with an inscription by Jacqueline Kennedy. 

The Jackie exhibit includes excerpts from Edward M. Kennedy’s eulogy for his beloved sister-in-law: “She was always there – for all our family – in her special way.”

The exhibit also includes a display titled “Jackie – A Visit to India” adjacent to the “Life on Cape Cod display.” It showcases colorful images of Jackie and her sister Lee Radziwill’s visit to India during JFK’s presidency. A video of her trip produced by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library is also shown on a continuous loop.

Curator of the exhibit, Rebecca Pierce-Merrick said “While Jacqueline Kennedy was admired and loved by the American public and was an international sensation, it was here on the Cape that she was able to simply enjoy carefree days with her family. This exhibit allows our visitors to see a glimpse of that Jackie.” 

The John F. Kennedy Hyannis Museum opened in 1992 to preserve the legacy of President John F. Kenney and his love for Cape Cod.  The museum is located at 397 Main Street in Hyannis.  For more information, visit www.jfkhyannismuseum.org or call 508-790-3077.