John F. Kennedy Rocking Chair

John F. Kennedy’s Rocking Chair
Oak frame with original upholstery
Made by P&P Chair Company, Asheboro, NC
Made in 1961

This extraordinary high-backed rocking chair was personally commissioned for President John F. Kennedy and gifted by him in 1961 to W. Averell Harriman, one of the most consequential American diplomats of the 20th century. Among the small number of rockers made for Kennedy, this is the only fully documented example that the President personally presented as a gift.

Harriman was one of Kennedy’s most trusted advisers, helping secure the 1962 Laos settlement and serving as the President’s personal representative in negotiations that produced the landmark 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty. Their relationship extended beyond diplomacy; following Kennedy’s assassination, Jacqueline Kennedy and her children stayed at Harriman’s Georgetown home. Few objects of presidential furniture unite Kennedy’s private life, his administration and one of its most important diplomatic relationships so directly.

The chair’s distinctive form became inseparable from Kennedy’s public image. Chronic back pain stemming in part from injuries sustained during World War II led Kennedy to rely on specially made rockers for support and comfort. This example displays the characteristic high back, woven rush seat, restrained oak frame and elongated rockers associated with the design. Kennedy kept examples at the White House, Camp David and his private residences, and photographs of the youthful President seated in these chairs transformed the silhouette into an enduring symbol of his presidency. The design became so closely identified with him that it remains universally known as the “Kennedy rocker.”

The North Carolina P & P Chair Company produced these distinctive chairs for Kennedy and subsequently made related examples for other prominent figures, including President Lyndon B. Johnson and Pope John Paul II. Kennedy’s association with the design elevated an otherwise traditional American rocking chair into an icon of presidential history. This example is further distinguished by a letter of authenticity signed by noted White House upholsterer Norma Arata, its documented descent through Harriman and his wife Pamela Churchill Harriman, and two exhibitions at the Oregon Historical Society.

Circa 1961

Measurements: 43 1/4" high x 29" wide x 32 1/2" deep

Provenance:
President John F. Kennedy (1917–1963), 1961
W. Averell Harriman (1891–1986), by gift from the above in 1961
Pamela Harriman (1920–1997), wife of the above
Sotheby’s New York, The Estate of Ambassador Pamela Harriman, May 19–21, 1997, lot 147
Melvin “Pete” Mark, Jr. (1926–2017), Portland, Oregon, acquired from the above
Private collection
M.S. Rau, New Orleans

Literature:
Robert Wilonsky, “American Treasures,” Intelligent Collector, accessed April 1, 2026, illustrated

Exhibited:
Portland, Oregon, Oregon Historical Society, Windows on America, June 2013–February 2014
Portland, Oregon, Oregon Historical Society, High Hopes: The Journey of John F. Kennedy, March 25–November 12, 2017