This exhibition unveils a selection of portraits taken of president-elect John F. Kennedy and his family in January 1961, in Palm Beach, Fla., before the Kennedys took residence at the White House. Individual photographs and enlarged contact sheets of unedited negatives (printed and signed by Avedon) offer unique insight on Avedon's photographic practice, aesthetic judgments and the ways in which these decisions contributed to the Kennedy mystique. PEM is the exclusive New England venue for this exhibition. The Kennedys was organized by Phillip Prodger, PEM's curator of photography.

Created by the National Museum of American History and organized for travel by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), The Kennedys | Portrait of a Family is supported by the Rudolf Eickemeyer Jr. Fund and Collins Design, An Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. The exhibition and national tour are sponsored by The History Channel.

All images courtesy National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. Photographs by Richard Avedon.