To commemorate the 50th anniversary of JFK’s death, Proud Chelsea is pleased to announce My Kennedy Years: Jacques Lowe, a personal and intimate collection of photographs of The Kennedy Family taken by photographer Jacques Lowe.

When he was only 28, Jacques Lowe became JFK’s presidential campaign photographer and later, personal photographer to the President. This gave Lowe unprecedented access to the personal and professional life of one of the most iconic leaders of the 20th Century. He took over 40,000 photographs of JFK at work and with his family, showing both the public and private man. These images established the Camelot myth in the popular imagination and shaped the public’s perception of the whole Kennedy family. This exhibition of Jacques Lowe’s photographs helps recount the story of these mythical years and a president who, in Lowe’s own words, “empowered each one of us to believe we could make a difference”.

Lowe’s collection of Kennedy negatives were so priceless that no company would insure them, so he stored them for safety in a vault at J.P. Morgan Chase Bank in The World Trade Centre. His daughter Thomasina recalls: “I went with him on countless occasions to retrieve or return negatives. There was always an air of solemnity in the room…as if what we were about to see and touch would bring us closer to something historic.” After the death of her father in May 2001, Thomasina pledged to uphold Lowe’s legacy and share with others his remarkable work.

During the tragic events of September 11th 2001, all of Lowe’s negatives were destroyed. Thomasina had faced the difficult dilemma that morning of whether to attempt to get to the World Trade Centre in order to save her father’s Kennedy archive: “I chose to look after my own safety, but I am still haunted by the dilemma in which I found myself.” She subsequently campaigned for many months to retrieve whatever might be left of the negatives. The safe was eventually found, strangely intact, but its contents had been destroyed. She says that “from the ashes that I held in my hand that morning I have tried to rebuild my father’s archive”

The prints in this exhibition at Proud Chelsea, curated by Emma Blau, are from the Estate of Jacque Lowe’s special collection of vintage and modern fine art prints that were all printed and signed by Lowe prior to his death. These rare prints are available for sale through Proud Galleries www.proud.co.uk. The exhibition will run from 26th September – 25th November. My Kennedy Years: A Memoir by Jacques Lowe, which will be published by Thames & Hudson on 23rd September, also accompanies the exhibition.

Proud Chelsea Gallery
161 King's Road, Chelsea
London SW3 5XP United Kingdom
Ph. +44 (0) 20 73490822
info@proudgalleries.co.uk
www.proud.co.uk

Opening hours
Monday - Sunday
From 10am to 7pm

Related images

  1. Elysee Palace, Paris, France, June 1961, © Estate of Jacques Lowe
  2. Solitude, Coos Bay, Oregon, Autumn 1959, © Estate of Jacques Lowe
  3. Bathing Suit with Fins, Hyannis port, Summer 1960, © Estate of Jacques Lowe
  4. Lumumba, The White House, February 13, 1961, © Estate of Jacques Lowe
  5. Vice Presidential Nomination, The Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, July 1960, © Estate of Jacques Lowe
  6. Omaha Profile, Omaha Nebraska, Autumn 1959, © Estate of Jacques Lowe