History in White House Silver
One of the most interesting collections of silver of which this country can boast is at the White House. I...
Foreword; White House History Number 34
How Long? 2 minutes
The preoccupation of those who occupied the White House for most of the nineteenth century was settlement of the West. Like most Americans, presidents by the 1840s saw the West as a place of romance, distant, impossibly different, a resource to exploit. Kit Carson, Seth Eastman and other rugged pioneers came to the East Room to shake hands with the presidents. Chiefs of Native American tribes called with their entourages. President Ulysses S. Grant’s fascination with the West was constantly rekindled by his longtime friend General Edward Beale, who lived across the square in the old Decatur House but whose vast Tejon Ranch in California is only today being broken up into smaller parcels.
The great sequoia trees of California were a particular favorite of President Richard M. Nixon, who selected the species to plant in the White House grounds to commemorate his presidency. Washington's climate did not suit the specimens originally planted. This engraving, published in the 1860s, shows the native sequoia, happily at home in California.
In the White House today the West is a constant presence in art and history. This issue of White House History addresses the subject in various ways. Richard W. Stephenson shows with historic maps the various possibilities that the capital itself might have been moved westward; George Washington’s participation in laying out the city helped preserve it. Estill Pennington walks through the White House, selecting western art hanging on the walls to illustrate the tug of the West that has always been there. Peter Waddell imagines in watercolor Thomas Jefferson’s museum of the west. John James Audubon’s portrait is given context by Danny Heitman. And Nenette Arroyo shows how Helen Herron Taft’s love for Asia and the Pacific inspired her to imitate the cherry groves of Japan along the Potomac River.
Rocky Mountain Landscape by Albert Bierstadt, 1870, oil on canvas, hangs in the Red Room of the White House, 2010.
You Might Also Like
-
-
History in the Camera's Eye
Versailles, Potsdam, and other grand relics of power are all imposing architecture and vistas, one always leading to another— Ossa pi...
-
A "Dark Horse" in Sunlight and Shadow
When Whig opponents chanted “Who is James K. Polk?” throughout the presidential election of 1844, it was more an attempt to infl...
-
Presidents and the Potomac
For the politicians, civil servants, and accompanying citizenry of the new federal government—freshly arrived in 1800 from comfortable, sophisticated Philadelphia—the...
-
Restoring the Original White House Stone
The restoration of the exterior of the White House, which I performed from 1989 to 1996, was an exciting and challenging task....
-
The Dolley Madison House on Lafayette Square
The Dolley Madison House, a yellow structure on the corner of H Street and Madison Place in “The President’s Neig...
-
Civil War Veterans Visit the White House
In May 1865, at the close of hostilities, a Grand Review throughout Washington, D.C., exhibited parading Union troops from the...
-
A Continuing Partnership with the Washington Nationals
White House history and American baseball history have been intertwined for more than a century, creating a rich legacy of...
-
John and Abigail Adams: A Tradition Begins
John and Abigail Adams had a wealth of experience in establishing and living in official houses prior to their move...
-
A Prominent Early White House Neighbor
When Commodore Stephen Decatur and his wife, Susan, moved into their new three story brick home across from the White...
-
Monuments to the American Revolution in Lafayette Park
In 1853, Clark Mills’ statue of President Andrew Jackson on horseback is in the center of Lafayette Park. The park’s four...
-
The White House Collection: The Truman Interiors
On March 27, 1952, President and Mrs. Truman returned to a freshly renovated White House after living at Blair House since November 1948....