
DATE: Monday, July 21, 1997                 TAG: 9707190053

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JENNIFER JACOBSON, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   89 lines

JACKIE O. EXHIBIT IS ON DISPLAY IN VA. BEACH

PAT A. SLAVEN'S husband died in Vietnam nearly 30 years ago. But standing in Lynnhaven Mall Thursday, staring at a 1960 summer portrait of Jacqueline Kennedy and daughter Caroline Kennedy, Slaven was transported back to one of the last conversations she had with her husband.

``When my husband went to Vietnam, he said if anything happens to me, be like Jackie,'' she said.

She followed his last wishes as best she could. She emulated the former first lady's stoic behavior following President John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination.

``I didn't cry,'' Slaven said. ``I didn't carry on.''

Neither had Jackie.

Hampton Roads residents can bring their own memories of the beloved first lady to Lynnhaven Mall, which is hosting a Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis exhibition through Aug. 3. The tribute to the late Jackie O., by photographer Jacques Lowe, is entitled ``The Making of a First Lady.'' It is a 30-piece collection of photographs that capture private and public moments of the president, his wife and their daughter. Their son, John Jr., is not part of the display.

Most of the pictures are in black and white. A few are in color. All are spectacular.

Tamara D. Dodson, the mall's marketing director, commissioned the exhibit. She found out about it in a newsletter put out by a San Diego-based company called The Art of Shopping, which was sending Lowe's collection on tour. The company loans art to shopping centers and exhibit halls.

Dodson sent away for a dozen preview photos to examine. Right away, she knew she wanted to bring the collection to Lynnhaven Mall.

``It's almost like you're seeing her life, and it's almost like the photographer wasn't there,'' she said.

Lowe, a personal friend of President Kennedy's, was asked to document his administration. In the process, he recorded Kennedy's family life as well.

With his camera, Lowe captured the Kennedy beauty and grace that charmed Americans and Europeans alike. In a black and white photograph taken in June 1961 in Vienna, Lowe stole a shot of Jackie and Nikita Khrushchev laughing together, enjoying what appears to be a humorous conversation. Both are all smiles.

Next to the photo, the caption reads, ``While the President and Nikita Khrushchev were locked in a bitter confrontational battle, Khrushchev adored Jackie instantly.''

Lowe, who was born in Germany in the 1930s, has written five books about the White House and the Kennedy family. The exhibit at Lynnhaven is based on his fourth book, published in 1996, ``The Making of A First Lady.''

He continues to take pictures, contributing to magazines like the New York Times Magazine, People, InStyle, and George, founded by JFK Jr.

His exhibit began its tour in Montana in March. It has since traveled cross-country, hitting Illinois, Iowa, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Colorado, and Virginia. The tour is tentatively scheduled to end in Texas.

Dodson expects a big turnout for the exhibit's exclusive showing in Hampton Roads.

``A lot of baby boomers grew up in that era,'' she said. ``And this market has a lot of baby boomers.''

Jackie was a model of style and deportment for many of her era.

Slaven raised four children on her own after her husband died. She put three of them through college.

Thursday, Slaven smiled at a caption Lowe had affixed to the portrait of Jackie and Caroline: ``She once said that if you bungle raising your children, nothing else much matters in life. She didn't bungle.''

Sherry L. Ewan, 50, of Virginia Beach, was entranced by Lowe's photographs.

``It's the first time I've really seen pictures of her,'' she said. ``I'd forgotten what a beautiful woman she was.''

For Ewan, the first lady's popularity crosses party lines.

``I'm a Republican, but I'm a Jackie fan,'' Ewan said. ``She set a good example of what women were then. I don't see her as a political figure.''

Generation X'ers also admire the woman who has become an American legend.

``I think people should appreciate them for the good family that they were, and for the good they did for our country,'' 21-year-old Sara B. Teaster said. ``They're almost like an American institution.'' ILLUSTRATION: CHARLIE MEADS/The Virginian-Pilot

Eddie and Sandra Hawley, of Powells Point, N.C., look at Jaques

Lowe's photographs of Jaqueline Kennedy at Lynnhaven Mall.

This photo of Jacqueline Kennedy was taken in 1959 as her husband

began his quest for the presidency.

WANT TO GO?

The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis exhibit, ``The Making of a First

Lady,'' by photographer Jacques Lowe, runs through Aug. 3 in the

Lynnhaven Mall center court. Hours are 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday

through Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. For information, call

340-9340 and press 0.