A new sculpture celebrates the former first lady’s legacy in restoring the White House and preserving Lafayette Square in the 1960s
Jill Biden honored Jacqueline Kennedy at the White House Friday, delivering remarks at a White House Historical Association ceremony dedicating a new medallion to the former First Lady.
“The history of our country is sewn into the soil of this park and in the bronze statues and ancient trees, in the cobblestones,” Dr. Biden said in her speech delivered at the Historical Association’s headquarters, located on Lafayette Square. “We can find the stories, stories that remind us of how far we’ve come. Stories that really inspire us to rise to new heights.”
Prior to her remarks, Dr. Biden helped remove a covering over the medallion, revealing the sculpture and calling it “quite beautiful,” according to a pool report.
The sculpture — known as the Jacqueline Kennedy Medallion — is a bas relief of the former first lady, featuring her famous words: “The White House belongs to the American people.”
The sculpture — created by American artist Chas Fagan — is meant to celebrate Kennedy’s historic legacy in restoring the White House and preserving Lafayette Square in the 1960s, when she advocated to safeguard the historic buildings around the park.
The preservation of Lafayette Square — and the architect hired to oversee the project, Jack Warnecke — proved to be integral in the late Kennedy’s life.
In the days following her husband President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Jackie hired Warnecke to design the President’s memorial with the eternal flame at Arlington National Cemetery.
In the year that followed, Warnecke — an early pioneer of contextual design — and the former First Lady became romantically involved and even discussed marriage on a trip to Hawaii in the summer of 1966, according to the 2018 book, Jackie, Janet and Lee, by J. Randy Taraborrelli.
In her speech Friday, Dr. Biden said former First Lady Kennedy understood “we all deserve to experience our rich history, the full, complex and beautiful story of who we are.”
She continued: “Together, we are opening the doors of the People’s House wider and wider to welcome all those who are part of this nation.”
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