Kennedy Assassination Painting Destined For Vatican

Minneapolis, MN -- Minnesota native Mark Balma has painted Presidents before, including Ford, Regan and George H.W. Bush, but they always posed and were depicted is a scene from their lives. Now, Balma has rendered a presidential work darker and much more spiritual. It is a moment of history, a snapshot of the Kennedy assassination that was never captured by any camera."Mrs. Kennedy, after arriving at Parkland Hospital, refused to let go of the President," Balma explained, recalling one line in the Warren Commission Report that caught his attention. The First Lady had to be gently coaxed to release the mortally wounded President from her lap in the limousine, so he could be taken to the emergency room. The 1963 murder in Dallas was the end of innocence for a generation of Americans, including the now 50 year old Balma. There is a distinct difference between this work and his earlier paintings. "Well, in this painting, I really tried to capture the idea of both frenzy and yet a still moment. In the background, there are figures which are softer and even slightly blurred and almost like a movie still where there is motion in the background and where the most amount of refinement is in Mrs. Kennedy." Balma waved his hand over the 5 by 7 foot oil. "She becomes the emotional place that I think most of the public looked to in the months after the assassination, more so than President Johnson."Balma calls the painting "Pieta", like Michelangelo's famous sculpture of Mary holding the crucified Jesus. The First Lady’s iconic pink suit has been reproduced, not just in oil and canvas, but in cloth and thread. The original blood-spattered garment is sealed in the National Archives until 2060. Balma obtained Jacqueline Kennedy’s measurements from the Kennedy Library. He had a tailor make an exact duplicate of the suit and hired a model wear it. Likewise, he had a male model "play" the slain President, sitting in a borrowed limousine. "Yes, I did and I found somebody and again we had his suit recreated as well, too. He was 6' 2" and wore a 38" jacket." Unlike most of Balma’s previous monumental works, there was no commission for "Pieta". Balma felt compelled to make it. He was inspired while working in Dallas and visiting the site of the assassination and Parkland Hospital. The doctor there, who was first to attempt to treat the wounded President, confirmed for Balma that Kennedy actually died in the car before he was moved. After painstaking research, Balma painted "Pieta" over nine months in 2004. Aside from Mrs. Kennedy and her slain husband, other key figures are depicted. They include close Kennedy friend Dave Powers who reaches toward Mrs. Kennedy to convince her to let her husband be moved. Also pictured is Secret Service Agent Clint Hill, who is removing his suit coat. Moments later, Hill used the jacket to cover the President’s bloody head. Then, Hill and Powers helped lift Kennedy from the limousine and onto a gurney. All of this was substantiated by witnesses, but the event was not photographed. No image of it has ever been made until now. Even though Balma finished the work in 2004, it has never been exhibited until now. It stands on a massive easel in the Jilian Interiors and Design Gallery in Wayzata. However, this depiction of the last moments of the life of America’s only Catholic President is enroute to the Vatican Museum in Rome, after a one week stop at the Cathedral in Saint Paul. Balma said local art museums declined his offers citing the work as "too emotional." Mark Balma understands. He says it was emotional for him to paint. "But I was trying to do it in a way that brought healing and closure and feelings of, I think, love and forgiveness that really was about this moment rather than conspiracy theories." Balma’s heart and hands have conspired to create a calming image of historic pain. It is an image that we have never seen before. For more information on the display at the Julian Design site call 952-249-6253. For more information on the display at the Saint Paul Cathedral beginning on Wednesday, November 15th at noon, go to the Cathedral's Web site or call 651-228-1766.