JOHN KENNEDY
A TRIBUTE
DEC 28, 2023 - JAN 11, 2024

Renowned Palm Springs sculptor, John Kennedy (1931-2004), has been a favorite among Hollywood stars and collectors worldwide. His life-size sculptures grace national plaza installations from the Spirit of Audrey (Hepburn) at the United Nations in New York City to educational, hospital, and theatrical centers. It was 1980 when Kennedy moved to the desert with his family and dedicated his time to sculpture. Palm Springs is where his daughter Tara grew up and is flying into from London with her children to commemorate the work of her beloved father.

The chosen date for this honorary visit to the desert is both to honor the twentieth anniversary of Kennedy’s passing and to attend the annual Palm Springs International Film Festival which awards recipients with the Kennedy statuette, The Entertainer. This piece was first presented in 1997, as a Lifetime Achievement Award to Lauren Bacall. The Entertainer is a playful though elegantly posed jester, personifying Kennedy’s humor and love of the arts.

Kennedy's lean sculptured figures are symbolic of Mogok women of Burma, where he lived as a boy with his Burmese mother and Scottish father. After joining the British Merchant Navy, he became a photographer and successful nightclub owner in London. All the while, he studied art with classes and apprenticeships throughout Europe. In 1980 when he moved with his wife and two daughters to the desert, Kennedy continued to be active as an entrepreneur and inventor. Though inventors are scientifically creative, to Tara, her father’s complete dedication to art was a natural shift.

As a sculptor, John Kennedy spread universal harmony, humor, and love for humanity, friends, and family, and Tara feels honored to be a part of this legacy. She describes her father as her hero, best friend and the “most inspiring person” in her life.

CODA Gallery has represented John Kennedy since the 1990s. Below is a partial listing of the sculpture in the exhibition. To view all current Kennedy inventory, click here. To learn more about the Palm Springs International Film Festival, click here.