Collection Presidential and First Lady Portraits
Since 1965, the White House Historical Association has been proud to fund the official portraits of our presidents and first ladies,...
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The Visit by Peter Waddell
Mary Livermore, a prominent abolitionist and women's rights activist, championed many causes including the U.S. Sanitary Commission that ran hospitals and collected supplies for soldiers during the Civil War. Livermore met with President Abraham Lincoln after he announced he would sign the Emancipation Proclamation. Lincoln later donated the original signed copy to raise money for the Commission. The Proclamation sold at auction for $3,000.
The White House Historical AssociationThe Great Cheese by Peter Waddell
President Andrew Jackson was famous for his public receptions, open to all. Some detractors described the crowds as mobs. The receptions were attended by hundreds, from the highest senator to the lowest rag-a-muffin of the city climbing in the windows. The centerpiece of this reception was a mammoth round of cheese, weighing 1,400 pounds.
The Grand Illuminiation by Peter Waddell
One of the most beautiful features to ever adorn the White House was a stained glass screen designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany, installed in the Entrance Hall in 1882. The vibrant screen had the greatest effect in natural light, but the times demanded electric light, which was installed during the Benjamin Harrison administration. The screen was removed in the 1902 renovation and later destroyed in a fire.
A Favorable Day by Peter Waddell
Many presidential stables existed over the years, the last and grandest being the one built by Ulysses S. Grant. Finished in time for his second inaugural, the French-empire stable at 18th and E Streets housed Grants beloved war horses Cincinnati, Egypt, and Jeff Davishi's sulky racer Butcher Boy, and carriage horses, all tended by his coachman Albert Hawkins. The stable was converted as a garage for automobiles before being torn down in 1911.
A Vision Takes Form by Peter Waddell
Although he never lived there, President George Washington not only selected the site of the new Presidents House, but also oversaw its construction to his particular specifications and demands. He was adamant that it be grand, with a façade of stone, not brick. Designed by the Irish-born architect James Hoban, the mansion was built with the labor of slaves, freemen, Irish artisans, and Scottish stone masons, whose marks can still be found on the White House today.
Tiber Creek: The Bathers by Peter Waddell
Despite its later reputation as a swamp, the Tiber Creek, which in the nineteenth-century ran along where Constitution Avenue runs today, was idyllic with extensive plants and wildlife including the now extinct Carolina Parakeet. President John Quincy Adams liked to swim in its quiet waters. During this particular adventure with his son, John, and servant, Antoine Giusta, the boat carrying the party was leaky and began filling with water, leaving the president fighting for his life in the river! Luckily he reached the opposite shore, only to wait several hours for rescue.
The Splendid Mrs. Madison by Peter Waddell
Dolley Madison was the first wife of a president to fully embrace her role as first lady. Her weekly levees at the Presidents House were a politically neutral space. One visitor wrote of entering the blazing splendor of Mrs. Madison's drawing room, designed by Benjamin H. Latrobe, and filled with political, military, and social figures of the day.
Visitors from the East by Peter Waddell
When President James Buchanan welcomed a delegation from Japan to the White House, the foreign visitors considered it lacking, without towers or a moat. They did admit it was handsomely furnished. The three samurai were the first Japanese ever to visit the United States, and they became instant celebrities. For their part, the Japanese considered America to be an inferior society, not likely to last long.
Composition in Red and Gold by Peter Waddell
President Chester A. Arthur, from New York City, was the beau ideal of fashion and, on entering the White House, called on his friend the artist Louis Comfort Tiffany to redecorate the Executive Residence. The most dramatic feature of the Red Room was the ceiling, covered in an intricate design of gold and bronze stars. As a widower, Arthur called on his sister Mary Arthur McElroy to fill the role of official hostess. The willful little dog named Tot, a Scottie, belonged to President Arthurs 12-year-old daughter Nellie.
Something Blue (Captured by Color, 1886) by Peter Waddell
The beautiful Frances Folsom was only twenty-one years old when she married President Grover Cleveland, who was forty-nine, and the only president to marry in the White House. The ceremony took place in the Louis Comfort Tiffany-designed Blue Room looking out to the South Lawn. The rococo-revival blue furniture, purchased by Harriet Lane, President James Buchanan's niece, is still in the White House collection.
A Bird that Whistles (In Jefferson's Cabinet, 1803) by Peter Waddell
President Thomas Jeffersons office, in the southwest corner of the house, was his private sanctuary that few visitors ever saw, but where he worked with his secretary, Meriwether Lewis, who would later lead the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It was here that Jefferson enjoyed his many intellectual interests, including geography, plants, architecture, and animals. He kept a mocking bird as a pet, which would regale him with its sweetest notes.
The White House Historical AssociationLafayette Square (Once the White House Overlooked a Residential Neighborhood, 1902) by Peter Waddell
Lafayette Square, once surrounded by residential houses and mansions was a grand neighborhood that included the White House. Benjamin H. Latrobe's Saint Johns Church, built in 1816, was soon followed by his design for Stephen Decatur's house, erected 1818-1819, on the northwest corner of the square. Dolley Madison spent her last years in a residence directly across the park on the northeast side of the square. In 1902 during the renovation of the White House, Theodore Roosevelt became a temporary square resident, living near Decatur House at 22 Jackson Place.
Peter Waddell for the White House Historical AssociationThe Confidant (First Lady Lucy Hayes and Her Maid, 1879) by Peter Waddell
Lucy Webb Hayes was a popular first lady and officially supported her own interests: children, education, and abolition. Her personal maid Mary, along with Mary's mother Winnie Monroe, were intimate members of the Hayes household and came from Ohio with the family to serve at the White House. A cat named Siam was sent to the Hayes children by the American consul in Bangkok; it was the first Siamese cat in the United States.
The White House Historical AssociationSince 1965, the White House Historical Association has been proud to fund the official portraits of our presidents and first ladies,...
From the beginning of its construction in 1792, until the 1902 renovation that shaped the modern identity and functions of the interior...
President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s advocacy for the arts endures as a vital part of th...
The collection of fine art at the White House has evolved and grown over time. The collection began with mostly...
For two hundred years, Decatur House has stood as a near neighbor to the White House across Lafayette Square. Stewart...
October 1, 20209:00-9:15amWelcome and Overview Stewart D. McLaurin, President, White House Historical AssociationFrederick J. Ryan Jr., Chairman, Board of Directors,...
The White House Historical Associationcommissions the official White House Christmas ornament each year. This is the 36th ornamentin the series...
January 14, 1964: State Dinner for Italian President Antonio Segni was hosted by President Lyndon Baines Johnson. Featured entertainment included Robert Merrill...
Congress has always been tasked with appropriating funds for the care, repair, refurnishing and maintenance of the White House and...
The 2024 White House History Teacher Institute is open to all K-12 educators and will be offered as an in-person program...
JAMES ARCHER ABBOTT is the Executive Director of the Lewes Historical Society in Lewes, Delaware. His publications include JANSEN, JANSEN...
NUMBERS 1 THROUGH 6 (COLLECTION I) WHITE HOUSE HISTORY • NUMBER 1 1 — Foreword by Melvin M. Payne 5 — President Kennedy’s Rose Garden by Rachel Lambert...