Requiem

Media - 1991.57.2 - SAAM-1991.57.2_1 - 62681
Copied J. Fred Woell, Requiem, 1968, silver, bronze, glass, photo, wood, and putty, 4 344 5834 in. (12.111.82.0 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Rose Mary Wadman, 1991.57.2

Artwork Details

Title
Requiem
Date
1968
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
4 344 5834 in. (12.111.82.0 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Rose Mary Wadman
Mediums Description
silver, bronze, glass, photo, wood, and putty
Classifications
Keywords
  • State of being — death — execution
  • Portrait male — Kennedy, Robert F.
  • Homage — Kennedy, John F.
Object Number
1991.57.2

Artwork Description

Fred Woell created Requiem after Robert Kennedy's assassination in 1968. The contorted features of the photographic portrait express both Kennedy's pain and the trauma endured by the nation. Stamped around the edge of the pin is the phrase "Jesus Saves," a reference to the Kennedy family's Catholic faith. The stars signify his final resting-place and remind us that his brother President John F. Kennedy was assassinated five years earlier in Texas, the Lone Star State.