An exhibit of clothing and artifacts from the life of Jacqueline Kennedy, whose sense of taste, style and history made her one of the most admired women of the 20th Century, will come to the Field Museum in 2004.
Chicago will be the final venue of an exhibit that opened in April 2001 at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. It drew huge crowds to the Metropolitan and Boston’s Kennedy Library and Museum. It is set to open next Saturday at Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington.
“We are very pleased to get this exhibition,” said Pat Kremer, a Field Museum spokeswoman. “It should be a very exciting event for our members and our regular visitors.
“Because we are the westernmost venue that the exhibition will reach before it ends, we think it is good news for Chicago’s tourism business, as well, as we think it will attract a lot of out-of-town visitors.”
The exhibition, which will open on Nov. 13, 2004, at the Field and will run through Mother’s Day 2005, focuses on Kennedy’s influence on fashion and style, featuring 70 costumes and the accessories she wore to state events as the nation’s first lady. It also features photographs, films, documents and other artifacts of her life, showing her work during her first husband’s presidency, restoring the White House and preserving and adding to its art collections and historical furnishings.
Among the highlights of the exhibition are the satin ivory gown Kennedy wore to the pre-inaugural gala ball in 1961 and the red dress she wore on a nationally televised tour of the White House.
After the exhibition closes at the Field, it will be returned to the archival holdings of the Boston Kennedy museum.