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John F. Kennedy. White House Rocking Chair gifted by the President to former New York governor Averell Harriman....
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Description
John F. Kennedy. White House Rocking Chair gifted by the President to former New York governor Averell Harriman. This original rocker used by Kennedy is one of twelve originals made by master craftsman Lawrence J. Arata at the request of the President in 1961. Constructed of Carolina Oak with original white cloth cushions intact. This particular chair was presented by Kennedy to Averell Harriman in 1961 as a gift. A signed statement by Mrs. Lawrence Arata documenting the authenticity of this JFK/Harriman rocking chair is included in this lot. It is also accompanied by a letter of provenance from The Kennedy Collection Authentication.Kennedy, whose history of back problems is well known, underwent painful spinal surgery prior to taking his Senate seat in 1955. In recovery, he visited the office of Dr. Janet Travell, where he sat in a Carolina rocker - a bulky oak-frame chair with a woven rattan seat and back - she had in her office. Kennedy found it so comfortable that Dr. Travell suggested he buy one.
When Kennedy became president in 1961, Dr. Travell became the White House physician, and the President's rocker from the Senate Office Building was installed in the Oval Office. That May, the President aggravated his old back injury at a tree-planting ceremony in Ottawa and acquired more rockers. Eventually he installed several rocking chairs in the White House; the others were sent to Camp David and the Kennedy family homes in Palm Beach and Hyannis Port. He also brought them along to hotels he frequented, and one even found a semi-permanent place aboard Air Force One. Photographs of President Kennedy sitting in a rocker, conferring with Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, as well as foreign heads of state, became world famous. The president once told reporters that the rocker was his favorite piece of furniture, and in the spirit of sharing his favorite form of ergonomic relaxation, he gave rockers as personal gifts to a number of important friends and supporters, among them the President of Mexico.
The chair offered here is one of the original twelve created by Arata for Kennedy. It is constructed of hand-finished Carolina Oak, with steam-bent bamboo woven to make the seat and back. The original fabric covers are constructed of cream-colored cotton, a design and color hand-picked by Jacqueline Kennedy.
This chair was presented by JFK to long-time Democrat and former New York governor Averell Harriman (1891-1986). He served as Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations (1961-65) and, as Ambassador-at-large for Johnson, he headed the American delegation during negotiations with North Vietnam in Paris (1968-69).
This rocking chair is a wonderful memento of the Kennedy era, with an important political association.
This is one of only three known and fully documented JFK used rocking chairs. Of the twelve made, the remaining nine Lawrence J. Arata rocking chairs are unlikely to ever reach the market as they are either maintained by the U.S. government or in the Kennedy family.
In 1996, at the Jackie Kennedy auction, two similar JFK/Arata rocking chairs sold for $442,000 and $453,000 each.
Provenance: The Estate of Ambassador Pamela Harriman, Sotheby's, New York, May 19-21, 1997.
Auction Info
2022 May 7 Treasures from the Melvin "Pete" Mark, Jr. Collection Signature® Auction #6256 (go to Auction Home page)
Auction Dates
May, 2022
7th
Saturday
Bids + Registered Phone Bidders: 6
Lot Tracking Activity: N/A
Page Views: 5,647
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