Permanent Exhibit (opened July 28, 2018)

The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is proud to share its permanent exhibit, Ernest Hemingway: A Life Inspired, encompassing the writer's entire life and career. 

A Life Inspired draws on every aspect of the Library's Ernest Hemingway Collection (textual, photographs, and objects), presenting major works and the places, people, and experiences which inspired them. It also features early paperback editions of Hemingway's works, the editions that John F. Kennedy would have encountered as a young Congressman.

The exhibit places the viewer in Hemingway’s shoes, seeing the people and places that inspired his greatest works.

"In 2016, the Kennedy Library opened a temporary exhibit, Ernest Hemingway: Between Two Wars, the first ever major museum exhibition devoted to the work and life of Ernest Hemingway," stated James Roth, Deputy Director of the Library. "It is now our pleasure to present a permanent Ernest Hemingway exhibit that tells the writer’s story by weaving together his literary masterpieces with his worldly inspirations. The exhibit places the viewer in Hemingway’s shoes, seeing the people and places that inspired his greatest works.”

This exhibition, made possible by decades of generous and unwavering support from Patrick and Carol Hemingway, was curated by the Library’s Hemingway expert, Dr. Hilary Justice.

Installing the Hemingway Exhibit

Featured in the exhibit are:

• First paperback editions of Hemingway’s major works
• Photographs from Hemingway’s personal collection
• Hemingway's photographs of the women who inspired him
• Manuscript pages from major works, including A Farewell to Arms, The Sun Also Rises, and For Whom the Bell Tolls
• LIFE Magazine edition of The Old Man and the Sea
• 32 covers of world-wide translations of The Old Man and the Sea

In the News

Hemingway's Life and Legacy Inspire New JFK Museum Display - Chicago Sun Times