Greenport Gets The Best Of Jackie O

Childhood photos of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis are making a summer home at The Greenport Theater, where the East End Arts Council is offering an exhibit featuring the photography of Bert Morgan called “The Best of Jackie O.”

The exhibit, which displays childhood photographs of the beloved First Lady participating in East End events as a young girl, began June 15 and will be celebrated during an opening reception on Friday, July 13, from 6 to 7:30 PM.

“In these touching images of small Jackie in jodhpurs, tweed jacket, and little riding boots, or grinning next to her huge Great Dane, Bonnett, at a dog show, Bert Morgan captures the beauty, poise, and determination that would later beguile the world,” wrote author Olivia Harrison in her 2002 book, Young Jackie.

Morgan’s extensive collection of negatives from his career was purchased from his estate in 2009 by film and photo archivist Patrick Montgomery, who has made them available for use in magazines, films, and books, including Harrison’s. He also donated relevant negatives to local East end historical societies and museums, as well as organizations in Florida.

Morgan came to the United States from England at the age of seven and grew up in Brooklyn. In 1930, he bought a camera, and for the next five decades, photographed the rich and famous. It’s said that the elite group allowed him into its social sphere because he agreed to never publish an unflattering photograph. Jackie’s socialite mother, Janet Lee, encouraged Morgan to photograph Jackie as she participated in East End events.

The exhibit is free and open to the public. All exhibited work will be for sale, framed and unframed. To purchase, contact East End Arts at 631-727-0900. The Greenport Theater is located at 211 Front Street in Greenport.

jade@indyeastend.com
@JadeEckardt