Something of Splendor
Decorative Arts from the White House
Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
1661 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W. Washington, D.C.
October 1, 2011–May 6, 2012
Open 10:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m. daily
White House Collection 1817 plateau in the White House State Dining Room. Part of the plateau is on view in the Something of Splendor exhibit.
This exhibition allows visitors to explore the history of the decorative arts in the nation’s foremost home. It includes 95 objects—furniture, ceramics, metals, glass and textiles—from the permanent collection of the White House. Many of these objects were made by the most celebrated craftsmen of their time, and some have never been seen outside of the White House. Objects in the exhibition range from a box lined with wallpaper used in the White House prior to its burning in 1814 to a gilded Herter Brothers armchair from 1875 to a coverlet embroidered by First Lady Grace Coolidge between 1925 and 1927 to a service plate from the 1982 Reagan state china.
The exhibition and its related publication include archival prints and photographs of the interiors to help the visitor envision life in the President’s official residence. William G. Allman, curator of the White House, and Melissa C. Naulin, assistant curator of the White House, selected the works included in the exhibition.
Gallery Talk, January 6: White House Registrar/Collections Manager Donna Hayashi Smith presents “Mounting Something of Splendor: A Behind the Scenes Look at Creating the Exhibition” at the Renwick Gallery at 12:00 p.m. Free and open to the public.
Gallery Talk, February 3: White House Assistant Curator Lydia Tederick presents Documenting the White House with Historic Images at the Renwick Gallery at 12:00 p.m. Free and open to the public.
Save-the-date for more exhibition-related programs including lectures and gallery talks.
An Artist Visits the White House Past
Paintings by Peter Waddell
White House Visitor Center
1450 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W Washington, D.C.
March 23, 2011–April 1, 2012
Open 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily
Peter Waddell, The Grand Illumination, oil on canvas, 55″ x 73″.
From its construction in 1792, until the 1902 renovation that shaped the modern identity and functions of the interior of the White House, the fourteen paintings of this exhibit examine the history of a national icon. Through meticulous research and tireless attention to detail, numerous sources inspired the brush of Peter Waddell to create a vision of the White House as it was, and to gain an appreciation of the nineteenth-century house and the men and women who lived and worked within its walls.
The Working White House
200 Years of Tradition and Memories
Museum of History and Art, Ontario, CA
December 21, 2011–February 26, 2012
View the full tour itenerary
Dolly Johnson, President Harrison’s cook, in the family kitchen, c. 1891-93. Library of Congress.
“Perhaps the most important advantage of working in the White House was that I acquired a sense of America’s destiny.” That’s how Alonzo Fields summarized his more than two decades as chief butler and maitre d’ at the White House. Since the early 1800s, thousands of doormen, maids, engineers, housemen, chefs, electricians, florists, carpenters, and plumbers have worked behind the scenes to make the Executive Mansion function.
Two centuries of stories and traditions are preserved in The Working White House: 200 Years of Tradition and Memories, an exhibition developed with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service. Archival and contemporary images, videos, as well as fascinating oral histories of workers who have served presidents from William Taft through George W. Bush convey the occupational culture of this private yet public place.
View The Working White House online exhibit.