Jacques Lowe American, 1930-2001
Jacques Lowe is an internationally renowned photographer and photo journalist who is best known for his portraiture of the leading personalities of our time, nationally and internationally, in politics, business, and the entertainment world.
In 1951, Mr. Lowe was a prize winner in LIFE magazine's contest for young photographers, after which Roy Stryker, the grand old man of photography, gave him an eight week assignment in Europe.
Starting in 1953 as a contributor to JUBILEE magazine he won numerous awards for his photo journalistic work among gypsies and other minorities.
He went on to contribute to such magazines as TIME, LIFE, LOOK, The Saturday Evening Post, Ladie's Home Journal, Paris Match, Epoca, Stern, and many others, and he was a staff photographer at Collier's Magazine at the time that journal folded.
In 1956, through his work, he befriended Robert F. Kennedy who had been appointed majority counsel to the McClellan Committee. In 1958 Ambassador Joseph P. Kennedy, who admired his work, asked him to photograph his "other son, Jack."
That assignment led to his becoming the Official Campaign Photographer of John F. Kennedy's quest for the presidency and, when elected, the personal photographer of President Kennedy. Although offered the White House Photographer's job Lowe declined, but the president asked him to "stick around and record my administration. Don't worry, I'll make it worth your while."
His work for the campaign, the Kennedy White House, and the Kennedy family has resulted in six books, numerous exhibitions from the USA to Moscow, several prime time television shows, and some 150 major magazine pieces and covers. Reviewers have credited Lowe's "natural, warm, and intimate images of the president and his family and the workings of the presidency with keeping alive the Kennedy flame for generations yet to come."
Following his work at the Kennedy White House Lowe returned to his studio in New York where he renewed his magazine, advertising and corporate photography work. His clients ranged from AT&T to Hertz Cars, from DuPont to United Airlines He won numerous gold and silver art director's awards for his commercial work.
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Senator John F. Kennedy addressing the combined Massachusetts-Texas caucus, 1960 -
John F. Kennedy in his Senate Office, 1959
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John F. Kennedy Campaign, Los Angeles, July, 1960
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John F. Kennedy, Los Angeles, California, July, 1960
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Jacqueline and Senator John F. Kennedy with Steve Smith, Oregon, 1959
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John F. Kennedy, Kansas, 1960
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John F. Kennedy Last campaign stop, Hartford, Connecticut, 1960
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John F. Kennedy Presidential Campaign, 1960
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John F. Kennedy at the Democratic National Convention, Los Angeles Coliseum, 1960
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John F. Kennedy in the Oval Office, Washington D.C., March, 1961
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John F. Kennedy arrives in Boston, MA, 1961
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John F. Kennedy, Pekin, Illinois, Fall, 1960
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Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy, Election Morning, November 8th, 1960
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The White House limousines arrive for John F. Kennedy's Inauguration, January 20, 1961
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John F. Kennedy with Lyndon Johnson, March, 1961
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John F. Kennedy during his state visit in Paris, 1961
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Jacqueline Kennedy, Paris, 1961
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John F. Kennedy scans the papers in Evelyn Lincoln's office, The White House, Washington D.C., September, 1961
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Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy, 1960
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John F. Kennedy at the White House, Washington D.C., 1961
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Senator John F. Kennedy addressing the combined Massachusetts-Texas caucus, 1960
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John F. Kennedy in the Oval Office, Washington D.C., May, 1961
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John F. Kennedy, Omaha, Nebraska, Fall, 1959
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John F. Kennedy, The Great Lawn, Washington D.C., February, 1961
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John F. Kennedy, Washington D.C., January 19, 1961
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Lyndon Johnson, Bobby Kennedy and John F. Kennedy at the Biltmore Hotel, Los Angeles, California, 1960
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Jacqueline Kennedy at her desk in her Georgetown Residence, Washington, D.C., 1959
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Jacqueline Kennedy at her desk in her Georgetown Residence, Washington, D.C., 1959
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Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy at the Inaugural Ball at the Armory, Washington, D.C, January 20, 1961
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Airport, Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy, Portland, Oregon, Fall, 1959
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John F. Kennedy, Coos Bay, Oregon, 1959
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John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Ball, Washington D.C., January 19, 1961
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Jacqueline Kennedy, Inaugural Ball at the Armory, Washington D.C., January 20, 1961
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Jacqueline Kennedy at the Inaugural Ball at the Armory, Washington, D.C, January 20, 1961
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John F. Kennedy at the Inaugural Ball at the Armory, Washington D.C., January 20, 1961
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Senator Kennedy dances with the newest member of the Kennedy family, Joan Bennett Kennedy, at Bronxville Country Club, New York, November 29, 1958
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Jacqueline Kennedy and Caroline, Hyannis Port, MA, Summer, 1961
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Jacqueline Kennedy and Caroline, Hyannis Port, MA, Summer, 1961
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Jacqueline Kennedy and Caroline, Hyannis Port, MA, Summer, 1961
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Jacqueline Kennedy and Caroline, The Nursery, Hyannis, MA, Summer, 1961
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Jacqueline Kennedy painting with Caroline, Hyannis Port, MA, September, 1960
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Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy, Hyannis Port, MA, August, 1960
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Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy, Hyannis Port, MA, August, 1960
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Jacqueline, John F. Kennedy, and Caroline, Hyannis Port, MA, Summer, 1958
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Jacqueline, John F. Kennedy, and Caroline, The 1960 Christmas Card, Hyannis Port, MA, August, 1960
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Jacqueline Kennedy and Caroline, Hyannis Port, MA, Summer, 1961
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Jacqueline, John F. Kennedy, and Caroline, Hyannis Port, MA, Summer, 1960
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Jacqueline Kennedy and Caroline, Hyannis Port, MA, Summer, 1961
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Jacqueline Kennedy, Hyannis Port, MA, Summer, 1960
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Jacqueline, John F. Kennedy, and Caroline, Hyannis Port, MA, Summer, 1960
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Westwood Gallery NYC: 30 Years
6 Sep - 25 Oct 2025In celebration of WESTWOOD GALLERY NYC's 30th Anniversary, the gallery will present a group show highlighting works from artists across our three decade history alongside installation views of past exhibitions.Read more -
Jacques Lowe: My Kennedy Years
22 Nov - 15 Feb 2013Jacques Lowe: My Kennedy Years was the final exhibition of Lowe's work before his death in 2001. It captures President John F. Kennedy and family across over 50 photographs.Read more -
Jacques Lowe: Rhythm
Photographs of Jazz Greats 11 May - 30 Jun 1999Read more
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2020 - Creating Camelot: The Kennedy Photography of Jacques Lowe, Cape Code Art Museum
2017 - Creating Camelot: The Kennedy Photography of Jacques Lowe, Booth Western Art Museum
2016 - Creating Camelot: The Kennedy Photography of Jacques Lowe, Durham Museum, Omaha, NE
2015 - Creating Camelot: The Kennedy Photography of Jacques Lowe, National Constitution Center, Philadelphia, PA
2014 - Westwood Gallery NYC, Jacques Lowe: My Kennedy Years
2013 - Creating Camelot: The Kennedy Photography of Jacques Lowe, Newseum, Washington, D.C.
2013 - Jacques Lowe: My Kennedy Years, Proud Chelsea, London, UK
2000 - Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, A Tribute, Sixth Floor Museum, Dallas, TX
2000 - Kennedy, the American Dream, Athens, Greece
2000 - Kennedy, the American Dream, London, England
2000 - Kennedy, the American Dream, Berlin, Germany
1999 - Westwood Gallery NYC, Jacques Lowe: Jazz Masters
1998 - Jacques Lowe: The Kennedy Years, JFK, RFK, and Jackie Remembered, A Gallery for Fine Photography, New Orleans, LA
1998 - Kennedy and King: An American Dream, The Palm Beach Photographic Center, Del Ray, FL
1998 - Jacques Lowe: JFK Remembered, Peter Fetterman Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
1998 - JFK Remembered, Govinda Gallery, Washington, D.C.
1998 - Kennedy, the American Dream, UNESCO, Paris
1997 - Jacques Lowe: Kennedy Years, A Portrait, Leica Gallery, NYC
1996 - Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, A Tribute , Union Station, Washington, D.C.
1996 - Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, A Tribute, Art and Culture Center, Hollywood, FL
1996 - American Festival, City Hall, Lille, France
1991 - The Hall of Journalism, Moscow, Soviet Union
1990 - Centre Photographique Ville de Paris, Pompidou, Paris
1984 - Musée de L'Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019 - American Visionary: John F. Kennedy's Life and Times, Cedar Rapids Museum of Art
2017 - American Visionary: John F. Kennedy's Life and Times, Smithsonian American Art Museum
2014 - Portraits of the 20th Century, Peter Fetterman Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
1998 - National Press Photographers Pictures of the Year Awards, Newseum, Washington, D.C.
1995 - Corcoran Gallery, Washington, D.C.
1994 - American Politicians: Photographs from 1843 to 1993, Museum of Modern Art, NYC
1990 - Month of Photography, Paris
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Capturing Kennedy
Jacques Lowe Documentary 2 Dec 2025Capturing Kennedy , a new documentary by Steele Burrow, is released in the United States on December 2, 2025. The documentary 'shares the extraordinary untold...Read more -
In Memoriam: Jacques Lowe (1930 - 2001)
12 May 2001Jacques Lowe, photographer of the Kennedys, dies at 71. Mr. Lowe came to New York from Cologne, Germany in 1949. Supporting himself with odd jobs,...Read more
