FELIX GEORGE WEIHS DE WELDON | BUST OF JOHN F. KENNEDY

The artist

Private collection (by descent; sold: Sotheby's, New York, June 21-22, 2005, lot 331)

Acquired by the present owner at the above sale

New York, Babcock Galleries, The American Hand: Sculpture from Three Centuries, February - March 2012, no. 9, pp. 3, 18, illustrated

This portrait bust of President John F. Kennedy was cast by the artist in 1968 from the original plaster model of the bronze bust, which sits in the John F. Kennedy Library on Columbia Point in Massachusetts. Felix de Weldon was commissioned by Mrs. Kennedy in 1963 to create the official portrait bust of the President for which he posed twice before his tragic death in November of that year. The work was completed in the artist's studio with Mrs. Kennedy visiting several times to see the progress of the project. The dark green marble pedestal is similar to the one on which the official sculpture rests, as is the inscription plate that includes a quotation from President Kennedy. The lot is sold together with a large box of John F. Kennedy memorabilia, including vintage photographs, letters, newspapers and news clippings, magazine articles, book jackets, as well as commemorative coins and stamps.