FIRST CHILDREN: CAROLINE AND JOHN JR.
IN THE KENNEDY WHITE HOUSE
TRAVEL & CULTURE MAGAZINE
SUMMER 2022
The public fascination with the Kennedy children during the John F. Kennedy administration was a world-wide phenomenon that tapped into pop culture and the advent of television during the 1960s.
This special exhibit at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum in Boston examines this phenomenon in detail. First Children: Caroline and John Jr. in the Kennedy White House runs through January 8, 2023 and includes 120 objects, images and ephemera from the Library’s museum collection that brings a new light to the Kennedy White House years.
Janice Hodson, the Supervisory Museum Curator at John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, said in an interview with WCVB’s Antoinette Antonio:
It’s just like your family albums at home;
you’ve got pictures of your kids in
Halloween costumes
or walking outside the house -
it just happens to be the White House.
Using photos, magazine articles, commercial products and film, the special exhibit reveals how the media and public perceived of and in many cases adored the children, Caroline and John Jr. The exhibition recounts the natural concern of both parents, especially Mrs. Kennedy, to protect the children’s privacy and to establish a normal childhood for them while living in the world’s glaring media lights.
Hodson goes on to say:
You had media pointing out
that they’re the equivalent of
a royal family for this country,
and the children were part of that.
Two fascinating elements of the exhibit include details of the White House School, which the parents initiated to provide security and a sense of normalcy along with a sound education and social interaction for their children alongside other children who attended the school.
And second, the Dolls from Around the World portion features hundreds of exquisite dolls that were sent to Caroline from world leaders, heads-of-state and ordinary citizens, reflecting a rich palette of folk costumes and cultural pride. Other highlights include a playhouse from French President Charles de Gaulle and objects from Caroline’s bedroom, including a 60” giraffe by Steiff and an original Grandma Moses painting, July Fourth.
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