Close
Not finding the information you're looking for? Please contact the Archives research staff.
Oral history
John F. Kennedy Oral History Collection
JFKOH-AUG-01
In this interview Heckscher discusses John F. Kennedy [JFK] and Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis as an “inspiration to cultural life”; Heckscher’s involvement in government affairs prior to becoming a Special Consultant to the President; the invitation of 168 artists to JFK’s 1961 inauguration and its impact; how Heckscher came to work for the White House; discussing Heckscher’s position with Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.; the reasoning behind the creation of the new position of Special Consultant on the Arts and the favorable public reaction to it; enlarging the definition of “The Arts,” especially regarding architecture; Arthur Goldberg; the establishment of the Freedom Medal; creating the President’s Advisory Committee on the Arts through executive order; personal impressions of JFK; setting up Heckscher’s office and staff; how Heckscher was meant to advise JFK and what his position entailed; the Cultural Center [Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts]; conversations with JFK; Mrs. Kennedy’s expansive work for the arts; the arts as part of national policy; working with other White House staff members and other Departments; designing special postage stamps; what the President’s role in the arts should be; and the Fine Arts Commission, among other issues.
Photograph folder
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-1962-11-29-C
AR29
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR7606-T
Master of ceremonies, composer, and conductor Leonard Bernstein (at microphones) speaks at a fundraising dinner and closed-circuit telecast of "An American Pageant of the Arts" for the National Cultural Center; President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy attended the dinner. Nina Warren, wife of Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, sits left of Mr. Bernstein. National Guard Armory, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR7606-M
Entertainer Danny Kaye (center, back to camera) conducts the National Symphony Orchestra during a fundraising dinner and closed-circuit telecast of "An American Pageant of the Arts" for the National Cultural Center; President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy attended the dinner. National Guard Armory, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR7606-E
Entertainer Danny Kaye (center, holding microphone) speaks with an unidentified woman in the National Guard Armory auditorium during a fundraising dinner and closed-circuit telecast of "An American Pageant of the Arts" for the National Cultural Center; President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy attended the dinner. Guests sit at tables in the background. Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR7606-D
Master of ceremonies, composer, and conductor Leonard Bernstein (second from right, holding a cigarette), stands with opera singers Richard Tucker (second from left) and Dorothy Kirsten (right) at a fundraising dinner and closed-circuit telecast of "An American Pageant of the Arts" for the National Cultural Center; man at far left is unidentified. National Guard Armory, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR7606-N
Master of ceremonies, composer, and conductor Leonard Bernstein (left), speaks at a fundraising dinner and closed-circuit telecast of "An American Pageant of the Arts" for the National Cultural Center; President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy attended the dinner. At the head table (L-R): Secretary of the Treasury, C. Douglas Dillon; unidentified; Secretary of State, Dean Rusk; Nina Warren, wife of Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; Mr. Bernstein; chairman of the dinner committee for the National Cultural Center, Suzanne Gardner; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; President Kennedy; Mrs. Kennedy; Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the National Cultural Center, Roger L. Stevens; Lady Bird Johnson; Chief Justice Warren; and Virginia Rusk, wife of Secretary Rusk. National Guard Armory, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR7606-L
Entertainer Danny Kaye conducts the National Symphony Orchestra during a fundraising dinner and closed-circuit telecast of "An American Pageant of the Arts" for the National Cultural Center; President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy attended the dinner. National Guard Armory, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR7606-K
President John F. Kennedy, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, and others attend a fundraising dinner and closed-circuit telecast of "An American Pageant of the Arts" for the National Cultural Center. Left to right: Nina Warren (seated), wife of Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; master of ceremonies, composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein; chairman of the dinner committee for the National Cultural Center, Suzanne Gardner; Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson; Mrs. Kennedy; and President Kennedy. National Guard Armory, Washington, D.C.
Photograph
White House Photographs
JFKWHP-AR7606-F
Guests attend a fundraising dinner and closed-circuit telecast of "An American Pageant of the Arts" for the National Cultural Center. Seated (L-R): two unidentified persons; Secretary of Agriculture, Orville L. Freeman; opera singer Dorothy Kirsten; and Secretary of the Interior, Stewart L. Udall. President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy also attended the dinner. National Guard Armory, Washington, D.C.