NEW YORK.- Sotheby's announced today that it will sell fine and decorative arts from the home of President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy in Hyannis Port as well as other family homes in Martha's Vineyard, New Jersey, New York City and Virginia. The auction, which will include more than 600 lots, will take place in Sotheby's New York galleries from February 15-17, 2005, with the pre-sale exhibition opening on Wednesday, February 9th and extending through 1:00 PM on February 14th. An illustrated catalogue, which is available beginning today, will feature never before seen interior photographs of the Kennedy homes as well as seldom seen candid images of the Kennedy family. The auction is expected to bring in excess of $1 million.

The property is consigned by Caroline Kennedy, who in her introduction to the catalogue, wrote: "After my mother died in 1994, my brother and I were faced with the task of deciding what to do with her possessions, and after careful consideration, we sold some of them in 1996. In the intervening years, and the death of my brother, I found myself again with more houses and belongings than I could possibly use or enjoy. As we did before, I have given anything of historical significance to the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation which will make it accessible to scholars and to the public, and I have kept those things that mean the most to me and to my children." A portion of the proceeds from the auction and the sale of the catalogue will go to The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and other charities.

Hyannis Port, Massachusetts Senator and Mrs. Kennedy purchased the shingle-clad residence in Hyannis Port in 1956. Adjacent to two other homes owned by the Kennedy family, the three houses formed a compound of six acres on Nantucket Sound. It was in this home in November 1960 that John F. Kennedy learned he had been elected President when his daughter woke him up saying "Good morning, Mr. President." The residence then served as the summer White House while President Kennedy was in office. It was a warm and informal environment, furnished by Mrs. Kennedy with American furniture, folk art, hooked rugs, ceramics and Sandwich glass.

A significant portion of the furniture and decorations in the Kennedy's Hyannis Port home was part of a collection of furniture and folk art purchased by the Kennedy family from Gerald Shea, a highly-regarded dealer in American decorative arts in the 1950s and 60s. Among the works from the Shea Collection to be offered is a Portrait of Captain Platt out of Portsmouth, with a Clipper Ship in the Distance, attributed to Frederick Mayhew, circa 1830, which hung behind President Kennedy in an official portrait taken during the summer of 1960. Captured in that iconic photograph, which would eventually grace the cover of the November 16, 1960 issue of Life Magazine, the painting of a sea captain is estimated to sell for $7/9,000. Also from the Shea Collection is a Federal Walnut and Cherry Worktable, New England, early 19th century (est. $800/1,200); a Baroque Fruitwood Armchair, early 18th century (est. $1,500/2,000); a Queen Anne Maple Flat-Top Highboy, New England, circa 1740 (est. $4/6,000); and a William and Mary Turned-Maple and Pine-Topped Oval Tavern Table, New England, early 18th century (est. $200/300).

Among the other works of fine art associated with Hyannis Port is The Breakwater by American artist Ogden Pleissner (1905-1983), a beautiful watercolor of the harbor with a plaque on the reverse, "Presented by Hyannis Port Neighbors, 1965. In memory of John F. Kennedy" (est. $8/12,000); and The John F. Kennedy House in Hyannis Port, a watercolor by Elizabeth Mumford, which is signed and dated 1980 (est. $1/1,500).

Jacqueline Kennedy and her mother-in-law, Rose Kennedy, both enjoyed collecting Sandwich Glass - the term which originally referred to glass made by the Boston & Sandwich Glass Co. on Cape Cod, but over time, came to encompass glass made in the United States in the 19th century. The auction will include numerous lots of glass tablewares from the 19th century and later, including a Group of Six Mold-Blown and Pressed Cobalt-Blue Glass Tablewares (est. $500/700); and a Group of Five Amethyst Glass Tablewares (est. $250/350).

Among the other tablewares and ceramics to be offered are a Copeland, Spode 'Italian Pattern' Part Service, late 19th and 20th century, comprising 235 pieces and estimated to sell for $3/5,000; various groupings of Table Linens, including pale blue napkins monogrammed JBK, with estimates ranging from $100 to $600; a Davenport Porcelain Botanical Dessert Service, second quarter 19th century (est. $3/5,000) and a Group of Twenty-Five English and American Pewter Wares, from the Shea Collection, 18th century and later (est. $1/1,500).