Existing comment:
John F. Kennedy
by Robert Berks
The John F. Kennedy bust, created by Robert Berks (1922–2011), weighs 3,000 lbs. and is 8 ft. high. The cast bronze work rests on a travertine pedestal and contains an additional 700 pounds of steel for internal mounting. The bust was commissioned as the visual symbol of Washington's sole memorial and created specifically for its present site in the Grand Foyer. Berks said that in creating the sculpture he wanted most to capture Kennedy's "energy, the tremendous hope, and [his] compelling drive."
The Kennedy family suggested Berks, the sculptor of other presidents including Truman, Lincoln, and Johnson. Berks's early studies for the bust began in 1963 only days after the President's assassination. He went to a New York newspaper office and pored over more than 800 photographs, eventually selecting about 60 that captured Kennedy's appearance from a variety of angles. After studying the images intensively for two days, he began modeling clay. Berks spent five years designing and one year executing the sculpture.
Because the memorial would be placed in the Grand Foyer -- one of the world's largest rooms -- Berks needed to work out the bust's size so it would be in scale with the immensity of the space. He wanted Kennedy Center guests to experience an intimacy with the sculpture.
Thirteen of Berks's works are in Washington, D.C., including the Mary McLeod Bethune Emancipation Centennial Monument in Lincoln Park and the 22 ft. Einstein Centennial Monument at the National Academy of Sciences on Constitution Avenue, NW. |