Lot 215: WILLENE WHISENHANT (1930-2015) photo of James McDivitt

[SPACE] WILLENE WHISENHANT (1930-2015) she was a renowned photographer who was the first female photographer for NASA. From 1962 to 1965, Whisenhant, who was a native of Texas, was the staff photographer for NASA at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. During her tenure there she shot photos of astronauts, worked with CBS newscaster Walter Cronkite on a story about astronaut John Glenn, and photographed President John F. Kennedy. Growing up in Livingston, Texas, Willene Whisenhant probably couldn't have imagined sipping lemonade on Air Force One with the president. She most likely didn't think she'd be the first woman ordained into an all-male club. And the idea of being the first and only female photographer for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), couldn't have possibly drifted into even her wildest daydreams. Later on, Whisenhant learned that President John F. Kennedy wanted her up front because, as he explained, when he first met his wife, then Jacqueline Bouvier, she was a struggling photographer and no one would give her a break. He therefore wanted Whisenhant to be front and center. That same day, the president asked his men to take the photographer up to Air Force One and give her some lemonade. Offered here is an original color photo of James McDivitt (b. 1929) NASA astronaut who flew in the Gemini and Apollo programs. He commanded the Gemini 4 flight during which Ed White performed the first U.S. spacewalk, and later the Apollo 9 flight which was the first crewed flight test of the Lunar Module and the complete set of Apollo flight hardware. He later became Manager of Lunar Landing Operations and was the Apollo Spacecraft Program Manager from 1969 to 1972. Whisenhant has written at the bottom "McDivitt." Provenance: from the files of Willene Whisenhant. VG.

VG