International Center for Journalists – ICFJ's Presidential Collection
Auction Ends: Nov 11, 2012 12:00 AM EST

Art

Six First Ladies, College Station, Texas, 1997 (limited edition, framed photo)

Item Number
120
Estimated Value
2000 USD
Sold
1200 USD to Live Event Bidder
Number of Bids
1  -  Bid History

Live Event Item

After the online close, this item went to a Live Event for further bidding. Absentee Bidding offered.

Item Description

David Hume Kennerly believes that the best photographers see what others don’t. A case in point: this image from the 1997 dedication of the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum at Texas A&M University. While everyone in the room was concentrating on the four U.S. presidents on stage, Kennerly looked behind him and was amazed to see six First Ladies quietly gathered near the back of the crowd. He knew immediately that he could not let the scene go unrecorded.

“They represent such an amalgam of history,” Kennerly said. Each first lady had her own priorities in office – from Lady Bird Johnson’s focus on the beautification of America to Hillary Clinton’s role in health care reform. Kennerly sees each of them as symbols of their times. “Even though these women didn’t run the country, they were essential players,” he said. “They have seen so much.”

This unpublished image marks one of only two occasions where six first ladies have been photographed together. Left to right are Rosalynn Carter, incumbent first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, Betty Ford, Barbara Bush, Nancy Reagan, and Lady Bird Johnson.

Item Special Note

This framed photo is signed and numbered by Kennerly. It is a 16" by 20" archival pigment print on Hahnemühle Fine Art Baryta paper.