TITLE: An American President in American Art

ART: Popular Culture in American Art

TEKS:

6.1 A 6.2 A, B 6.3 A

OBJECTIVE:

Students will discover President John Fitzgerald Kennedy through the abstract portrait by Elaine de Kooning.

MATERIALS:

• See image below

OVERVIEW:

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (1917-1963) was the United States' 35th president. He was the youngest man ever elected president, and the youngest ever to die while in office. During Kennedy's presidency, the United States enjoyed its greatest prosperity in history, and its first manned space flights that prepared to send astronauts to the moon. Two years and ten months after assuming office, Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald on November 22, 1963.

In 1962, abstract expressionist Elaine de Kooning accepted a commission from the White House to paint a portrait of President Kennedy for the Truman Library. She was chosen to paint President Kennedy's portrait because of her reputation of being able to paint a full-length portrait in less than two hours. Speed and execution were factors because President Kennedy was restless and did not like to sit still. She sketched him as he went about his daily routine without long periods of posing. She sketched him reading papers, talking on the phone, writing notes, crossing and uncrossing his legs. Kooning did portraits for the pleasure of doing them and it did not matter if her subject matter was famous or not. She made portraits of friends, the people she was fond of. Some of them just happened to be famous. Her interest was in the gestures of the body and the expression of the character through the structure of clothing. She had a zest for life, like Kennedy. She died in 1989.

DISCUSSION:

Students should view the image above of John F. Kennedy after they have read the overview and discussed the meanings of gestures, abstract expressionism and portrait. After the students view the image above, they should research other paintings by Elaine de Kooning on the World Wide Web. After viewing the image for the first time, discuss the following questions:

1. What do you think of when you view the portrait of Kennedy?
2. How do you know this is an abstract expressionist painting?
3. What do you think Kennedy was reading while de Kooning sketched him?
4. What is the expression on Kennedy's Face? What type of gestures do you see in the portrait?
5. Why do you think de Kooning chose the colors she did for the watercolor?
   

ASSIGNMENT:

After discussing the painting of Kennedy, the students should read articles and view other portraits of abstract expressionism and sketch a portrait using techniques of abstract expressionism in their work.

RESOURCES:

Publications:
Amarillo Museum of Art. Bush, Allegra. Research Assistance Team. ELAINE DE KOONING. April,2001.
United Press international. Four Days, New York: Heritage Publishing Co, 1964.

Internet Links:
http://www.ask.com (type in Elaine De Kooning and John F. Kennedy) numerous web sites to explore.