Jamie Wyeth

While serving in the Delaware Air National Guard from 1966 to 1971, Wyeth was commissioned to paint a portrait of Charles L. Terry, Delaware's governor, although he rarely accepts commissions for portraits. He was also persuaded by people close to the Kennedys to undertake a posthumous portrait of President John F. Kennedy. He familiarized himself with Kennedy's appearance through photographs, motion picture footage, and talks with people who knew him, including several discussions at Hyannisport, Massachusetts, with the President's widow. To get a sense of the living President, he made numerous sketches of his brothers, Robert and Edward Kennedy.