“Young Jackie on the South Fork” at Clinton Academy

[caption id="attachment_67219" align="alignnone" width="628"] A photo of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis by Bert Morgan.[/caption]

The East Hampton Historical Society will present, “Young Jackie on the South Fork,” a rare collection of images that explore the life of young Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis and her pastimes in the Hamptons as captured through the lens of famed society photographer, Bert Morgan.

There is an opening reception on Friday, August 4 from 6 to 8 p.m. and the exhibit will run from August 5 to October 8 at the Clinton Academy Museum on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 12 to 5 p.m.

Morgan recognized that Jackie Bouvier was a star even at age five. Encouraged by Janet Lee Bouvier, her socialite mother, Bert would seek out young Jackie when she participated in East End events — horse shows, dog shows and fashion benefits. He photographed her as she grew from a child into a young adult.

“It is a privilege to get to work with such an important icon in our society, for women, for leaders–in society, politics, fashion and American culture. It was wonderful to see her as a child, to recognize this look in her eyes, the way she carried herself, not knowing what she would grow up to be, and seeing how it evolved,” Executive Director of the East Hampton Historical Society, Jill Malusky said.

[caption id="attachment_67218" align="alignright" width="375"] A young Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis. Bert Morgan photo[/caption]

Morgan was the dean of high society photographers, covering the “Social Set” from the 1930’s to the 1980’s as they gathered in New York, Palm Beach, East Hampton, Southampton, Newport, Saratoga and points in between. It was said that he agreed to never publish an unflattering photograph, which is why the rich and famous let him into their social functions, private clubs and homes.

Morgan left behind an extensive collection of over 500,000 negatives taken throughout his career by himself and his son, Richard Morgan. The collection was purchased from Morgan’s estate in 2009 by Shelter Island-based film and photo archivist Patrick Montgomery.

Working through Getty Images, Montgomery has made them available for use in magazines, books and films. He has also combed through the archive, identified images, which would be better served in their home communities, and donated these negatives to local historical societies and museums including the East Hampton Historical Society.

“Bert Morgan has many photographs of Jackie available, and some images had several options. We were able to really decide which look, which expression, which movement was telling a story we wanted to share,” Malusky said. “In learning more about ‘young’ Jackie, it was said by teachers that she was spirited and mischievous, and you can see that look captured in a few images. I’d like to think that this roguish spirit has a strength to it, and over time, she cultivated it into the grace and reserve that we see in her later images; that sort of self-preservation takes real power.”

The Clinton Academy Museum is located at 151 Main Street in East Hampton. For more information, please visit easthamptonhistory.org.