Art and Democracy

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JFK Exhibit /
Highlights
Art and Democracy

“Art is the great democrat,” wrote John F. Kennedy, “calling forth creative genius from every sector of society, disregarding race or religion or wealth or color.” He believed that art and democracy went hand-in-hand. Poets, painters, musicians, architects, writers, and others were as important to American life as scientists, politicians, and businesspeople.

He and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy invited arts organizations to perform at the White House. He spoke and wrote about the importance of the arts. He maintained friendships with prominent artists including poet Robert Frost and composer Leonard Bernstein. Perhaps most importantly, he laid the groundwork for the creation of the National Endowments for the Arts and for the Humanities.

The Washington Post called Kennedy “the best friend culture has had in the White House since Thomas Jefferson.” But for Kennedy, supporting the arts was simply a matter of good government.

Exhibit Highlights

Footage, invitations, tickets, and transcripts from the Inauguration.
Personal letters from Mark Rothko, John Steinbeck, E.B. White and other artists and authors to JFK on the meaning of his election.
Art, design, and music from contemporary artists of time.
Media coverage of JFK’s policies to uplift the arts.

John F. Kennedy was inaugurated on January 20, 1961, a cold, bright day in Washington. In addition to distinguished guests such as congressmen, senators, and former presidents, Kennedy invited 168 poets, artists, writers, and heads of major cultural institutions to attend. The invitation signaled Kennedy's desire to engage America’s cultural leaders in the new administration.

Contralto Marian Anderson sang the National Anthem and Robert Frost was the first poet ever invited to recite at an inauguration. For those present and those watching on TV, the inauguration promised a new, more prominent role for the arts.

President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy walking to his Inauguration, Washington, D.C., January 20, 1961.

Paul Schutzer/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock

American star Frank Sinatra produced and hosted a star-studded gala for Kennedy the night before the inauguration that highlighted the incoming President’s embrace of popular celebrity culture. Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, and Ethel Merman sang, Gene Kelly danced an Irish jig, and composer Leonard Bernstein led a 70-piece band performing a fanfare he wrote for the occasion. Other performers included Pat Suzuki, Joey Bishop, Louis Prima, Keely Smith, Harry Belafonte, Jimmy Durante, Helen Traubel, Alan King, Janet Leigh, and Tony Curtis.

Host Frank Sinatra (center) leads a group of performers at Kennedy’s Inaugural gala, National Guard Armory, Washington, D.C., January 19, 1961.

Jacques Lowe, Courtesy of the Jacques Lowe Estate

Kennedy called Robert Frost “the great American poet of our time.” Kennedy admired Frost for his poetry which he felt embodied the individualism of American creativity. Frost admired Kennedy as well and supported his presidential campaign.

Kennedy awarded Frost the Congressional Gold Medal in 1960 and Frost joined Secretary Stewart Udall on a goodwill mission to Russia. In Kennedy’s most important speech on the arts, delivered at the opening of the Robert Frost Library at Amherst College, he said, “I see little of more importance to the future of our country and our civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist...art is not a form of propaganda, it is a form of truth.”

President Kennedy presenting Robert Frost with the Congressional Gold Medal on his 88th birthday, 1962.

Abbie Rowe. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston

In March of 1962, Kennedy appointed New Yorker August Heckscher as the first ever Special Consultant on the Arts. Heckscher’s job was to review the government’s relationship to the arts, including the acquisition and display of art, the preservation of cultural heritage, and standards in architecture. His report recommended the establishment of an Advisory Council and a National Arts Foundation.

Together, Heckscher, Kennedy, and his advisors laid the groundwork for the Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

August Heckscher and son Charles with President Kennedy, 1963

Courtesy of Charles Heckscher

President and Mrs. Kennedy opposed the planned demolition of several historic buildings on Lafayette Square and enlisted the help of architect John Carl Warnecke, who Kennedy met at Stanford in 1940. Warnecke’s plan preserved the buildings and the 19th-century scale of the square by erecting new administrative offices behind them. Mrs. Kennedy’s advocacy inspired the 1966 Historic Preservation Act.

Architect John Carl Warnecke and Mrs. Kennedy, with plans for Washington, D.C.’s Lafayette Square, 1962.

Abbie Rowe. White House Photographs. John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston

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Exhibit Highlights