Exceptional matte-finish 7.25 x 9.25 head-and-shoulders portrait of Kennedy in a suit and tie by Fabian Bachrach, affixed to its original 9.5 x 12.75 mount, which is signed and inscribed in the lower border in bold black ink, “For Governor Orval Faubus, with warm regards and every good wish – John F. Kennedy.” Attractively matted and framed to an overall size of 17 x 20.5. In fine condition.
Orval Faubus (1910–1994), a Democratic politician who served as the 36th Governor of Arkansas from 1955 to 1967, is best known for his role in the 1957 Little Rock Crisis, when he refused to comply with a decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1954 case Brown v. Board of Education, and ordered the Arkansas National Guard to prevent black students from attending Little Rock Central High School. Per journalist Harry Ashmore (who won a Pulitzer Prize for his columns on the subject), Faubus used the Guard to keep blacks out of Central High School because he was frustrated by the success his political opponents were having in using segregationist rhetoric to arouse white voters.
Faubus continued to align with Jim Crow advocates when, three years later, during the 1960 presidential election, the white supremacist National States' Rights Party nominated Faubus for President and retired U.S. Navy rear admiral John G. Crommelin of Alabama for Vice President. Faubus, however, did not campaign on this ticket actively and won only 0.07% of the vote (best in his native Arkansas: 6.76%), losing to the John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson ticket.
Fabian Bachrach was an American photographer, known for portraits of celebrities, politicians, presidents, and other prominent individuals. Bachrach was best known for a portrait of Senator John F. Kennedy, which was later used as his official photograph after he was elected President in 1960. Bachrach's family, who own Bachrach Studios, has been in the commercial photography business for more than 140 years and is believed to be the world's oldest continuously operating photography studio.
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