Jacqueline Kennedy I (Jackie I), from the portfolio “Eleven Pop Artists I”

This image derives from an Associated Press wire photograph of Jacqueline Kennedy with President John F. Kennedy at her side. It was taken shortly before the president’s assassination in Dallas on the morning of November 22,1963, as the couple rode in a convertible from the airport into the city.

Andy Warhol had an uncanny ability to both tap into and define the collective consciousness of his time. He did that in part by borrowing images, not only from advertising, but also from current events. As he always did, Warhol made the image of Jackie his own by significantly manipulating his source photograph. The print not only crops out most of the image and removes the photographic detail, the process also naturally reversed the image.