What Could’ve Been

What Could’ve Been is a maquette, or small-scale model, created by sculptor David Lewis in 2000 for a proposed statue honoring President John F. Kennedy and his son, John F. Kennedy Jr. Sponsored by the Hyannis Area Chamber of Commerce, the sculpture presents them walking barefoot together, with the president’s arm resting affectionately across his son’s shoulder.

The informal clothing, bare feet and sand beneath them connect the figures to the relaxed summers the Kennedy family spent on Cape Cod. Instead of portraying Kennedy in a formal presidential setting, the sculpture presents a private moment between a father and son beside the waters that played such an important part in their family life.

Its title carries a deeper meaning. President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, when John Jr. was only three years old. John Jr. later died in a plane crash near Martha’s Vineyard in 1999. Created the following year, the work reflects upon the years they never shared and the lives that might have unfolded had both men lived longer. Although the proposed full-size statue was never completed, the maquette preserves a moving vision of the father and son walking forward together.