The Richard Nixon Foundation
Yorba Linda, CaliforniaThe Richard Nixon Foundation applies the legacy and vision of President Richard Nixon, America's relentless grand strategist, to defining issues facing our nation and the world.
On May 15, 1972, First Lady Patricia Nixon unveiled the newly refurbished Blue Room. This digital exhibit explores Mrs. Nixon’s efforts to restore the Blue Room to its French Empire style, which drew its inspiration from the Bellangé suite of furniture purchased by President James Monroe for the room in 1817. The unveiling of the Blue Room provided Mrs. Nixon the opportunity to demonstrate her successful expansion of the White House Collection. During her time as first lady, Mrs. Nixon added 600 paintings and furnishings to the White House, the most by a single administration. Scroll down to see a preview gallery of the digital exhibit!
The White House Historical Association began its partnership with the Richard Nixon Foundation in 2019, the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon and First Lady Patricia Nixon moving into the White House. This relationship seeks to provide greater access to specific selections of the Foundation’s collections, including photographs, documents, and video footage of Mrs. Nixon’s 1972 Blue Room renovation. These historical images and documents, along with those pertaining to other White House projects, give greater insight to the accomplishments of First Lady Patricia Nixon and highlight her efforts to enhance the White House and its collections for future generations.
Gallery
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On May 15, 1972, First Lady Patricia Nixon spoke with journalists during an afternoon press preview of the newly renovated Blue Room. Mrs. Nixon thanked everyone involved in the project and mentioned that there would be an event that evening to honor those that made the project possible: “Tonight we will be receiving all of the people who have helped us with the White House, and this includes over a thousand. They will be coming here for a reception and to find a little bit of what they gave somewhere in these rooms.”
White House Historical Association -
In this video clip, First Lady Patricia Nixon speaks to reporters during an afternoon press preview of the newly renovated Blue Room on May 15, 1972. When asked what her favorite addition to the Blue Room was, Mrs. Nixon highlighted the new French Empire style wallpaper, remarking “I love the wallpaper because I think it’s sophisticated, and yet, restful and beautiful.”
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First Lady Patricia Nixon, along with White House Curator Clement E. Conger and Janet A. Neff, greet guests in the Blue Room during a reception to celebrate its reopening on May 15, 1972. Mrs. Neff was the primary supporter of the restoration of the Blue Room to its French Empire style.
White House Historical Association -
This invitation was created for guests of a reception held by President Richard M. Nixon and First Lady Patricia Nixon on May 15, 1972, on the occasion of the reopening of the Blue Room of the White House. The Blue Room had been closed since February 19, 1972, for a refurbishment project inspired by the French Bellangé suite of furniture purchased for the room by President James Monroe in 1817. To view the alternate side of the invitation, see the next image.
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum/NARA -
This invitation was created for guests of a reception held by President Richard M. Nixon and First Lady Patricia Nixon on May 15, 1972, on the occasion of the reopening of the Blue Room of the White House. The Blue Room had been closed since February 19, 1972, for a refurbishment project inspired by the French Bellangé suite of furniture purchased by President James Monroe for the room in 1817. To view the alternate side of the invitation, see the previous image.
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum/NARA -
This video clip shows craftsmen preparing and adhering new wallpaper to the Blue Room’s bare walls during its 1972 refurbishment. Prior to this project, the Blue Room featured silk-upholstered walls. Craftsmen carefully removed the coverings and repaired the plaster before applying the new wallpaper. First Lady Patricia Nixon worked with antique wallpaper expert Mary Dunn of Nancy McClelland, Incorporated, of New York to select a period appropriate beige French Empire style wallpaper. The selected sample featured an upper frieze with a flower and bowl design, and a lower border of pink flowers, cupids, and Greek figures.
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This is the first page of a report prepared by the Office of the Curator of the White House explaining the history of and the changes to the Blue Room during its 1972 refurbishment. According to the Committee for the Preservation of the White House, the new room featured the style of furnishings of the French Empire period. The document also states that the wallpaper was inspired by the French Directoire wallpaper made in 1800 by Jacquemart et Bernard and reproduced precisely from period documentation.
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum/NARA -
This is the first page of a document describing the objects acquired for the Blue Room that were part of the 1972 refurbishment project. One of the most important new acquisitions was a bergère (enclosed armchair) from the original Bellangé suite of furniture purchased for the room by President James Monroe in 1817. There were only two bergères in the original suite, one for the president and the other for the first lady. While the room previously featured several chairs from this set, this new chair was recovered and given to the White House by an anonymous donor.
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum/NARA -
This photograph shows several objects that were placed in the Blue Room during the afternoon press preview held by First Lady Patricia Nixon on May 15, 1972. The preview featured new acquisitions to compliment former pieces in the room, including a pair of English console tables (one of two pictured here). An oil on canvas portrait of President John Tyler, completed in 1859 by artist George Peter Alexander Healy, hangs above the furnishings. To view a document detailing some of the newly acquired furniture for the Blue Room, see the previous image.
White House Historical Association -
This photograph of the Blue Room was taken in 1962 during the John F. Kennedy administration. That year, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy completed the room’s redesign by using French Empire style furnishings from the James Monroe administration. The Blue Room featured silk-upholstered wallpaper, floor-length blue curtains, several chairs from the original Bellangé suite of furniture purchased by President James Monroe in 1817, and eleven reproductions to supplement the originals. Today, ten original pieces of the Bellangé suite have been returned to the White House.
White House Historical Association -
This photograph depicts the Blue Room as it appeared following a renovation project by First Lady Patricia Nixon in 1972. Mrs. Nixon was assisted by White House Curator Clement E. Conger and design consultant Edward Vason Jones. The refurbished Blue Room’s style was inspired by the French Bellangé suite of furniture purchased by President James Monroe purchased in 1817. The walls were covered with beige wallpaper, featuring an upper frieze with a flower and bowl design, and a lower border of pink flowers, cupids, and Greek figures. Blue curtains hung the length of the room. At the far end of the room sits a bergère (enclosed armchair). There were originally two in the 1817 Bellangé suite of furniture—one for the president and the other for the first lady. It was acquired by Mrs. Nixon for the Blue Room renovation in 1972.
Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum/NARA -
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