The Museum Acquires Landmark Archive from Photojournalist Bob Jackson, Including Iconic Image of the Murder of Lee Harvey Oswald.
Spanning from 1960 to 1978, Jackson’s more than 15,000-image collection offers rare insight into the cultural landscape of Dallas and the enduring impact of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Dallas, TX – 8/11/25– The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza announces today the acquisition of the archive of Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Robert “Bob” Jackson (b. 1934), who is best known for capturing the moment of the murder of alleged John F. Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald by nightclub owner Jack Ruby, one of the most important news images of the 20th century. Comprising more than 15,000 original images, the collection spans Bob Jackson’s decade-long career as a Dallas Times Herald photojournalist, offering a culturally comprehensive look at life, society, news, and culture in Dallas in the 1960s and 1970s. It is the single largest collection of photographic images ever received by the Museum.
“I’m proud to entrust this body of work to The Sixth Floor Museum, where the people of Dallas, and visitors from around the world, will be able to appreciate it, these images don’t just document an event—they capture the atmosphere of a city and a country in transition.”
– Bob Jackson
“As the only institution dedicated to the life, legacy, and assassination of President John F. Kennedy, The Sixth Floor Museum is honored to accept this generous donation from Bob Jackson,” said Museum CEO Nicola Longford. “Through his work, Bob has created a one-of-a-kind visual history of mid-century Dallas. No other collection—photographic or otherwise—provides the same breadth and depth in chronicling the growth and evolution of this community during the 1960s and 1970s. Bob covered human interest stories and hard news, documented major events and social activism, and captured images of numerous dignitaries and celebrities who visited the city in the years following the Kennedy assassination. As a robust visual archive of local cultural history, the Bob Jackson Collection will be of immeasurable value to students, teachers, researchers, and historians who study not just Dallas and Fort Worth, but the broader context of those turbulent times. We look forward to ensuring that his images are preserved and accessible for current and future generations and we are grateful that Bob has entrusted his work to the Museum.”
Throughout his career, Jackson photographed key moments in the city’s history, tracing its transformation from a small town into a bustling metropolis. Images in the archive span cultural and sporting events, natural disasters and news coverage, and important historical moments, including school integration. Also documented are visits from politicians including Vice President Hubert Humphrey, future president Ronald Reagan, Gov. John Connally, and Sen. Estes Kefauver. Celebrities Danny Kaye, Desi Arnaz, John Wayne, Joe Namath, Don Meredith, Carol Burnett, Robert Stack, Vidal Sassoon, The Beatles, Bread, and The Carpenters are also represented in the collection.
“I’m proud to entrust this body of work to The Sixth Floor Museum, where the people of Dallas, and visitors from around the world, will be able to appreciate it,” said Bob Jackson. “These images don’t just document an event—they capture the atmosphere of a city and a country in transition.”
Comprised of original photo negatives and slides, the archive also offers important insights into the evolution of photography, technology, and photojournalism. Complementing the negatives and slides is a collection of 20 issues of Society Section, a 1970s publication co-founded by Jackson that covered Dallas high society and fashion.
Jackson’s collection at the Museum also includes his camera, in a gift formalized in 2024, which has been on long-term loan and is currently on view in the core exhibition John F. Kennedy and the Memory of a Nation, along with a large-scale reproduction of Jackson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph of Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald. Historians and researchers can access Jackson’s photographs by placing a request with the Museum. Jackson has also participated in 14 interviews and programs, which are part of the Museum’s Oral History Collection which contains more than 2,600 first-hand accounts of the assassination and life and culture of 1960s America.
The Museum will host programming to celebrate the donation, including Dallas: Through the Lens of Bob Jackson, a conversation with Jackson about the collection. The event will take place on Saturday, November 22, 2025.The Museum is also planning a major special exhibition of news photography, slated to open in Spring 2026, that will feature a number of items donated by Jackson, including several rarely seen images.