Featured The Life and Presidency of Herbert Hoover
The 2016 White House Christmas ornament honors the administration of the thirty-first president of the United States Herbert Hoover, who served...
Mrs. Nixon and the White House Collection
How Long? 2 minutes
When President and Mrs. Richard M. Nixon took residence at the White House in 1969, the wear and tear of thousands of earlier visitors and guests necessitated improvements. From the beginning Mrs. Nixon was keenly aware of the need to support a program for the acquisition of artwork and objects for the collection and played a major role in fulfilling this need.
Acquisitions to the White House Collection during the Nixon administration were substantial bringing more than 600 pieces of art, furniture, chandeliers, notable examples of china services from past administrations, and carpets among other things to the White House. Mrs. Nixon considered the iconic portrait of Dolley Madison painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1804 to be the most important acquisition (loaned from the Pennsylvania Academy of Art in 1970 and acquired by the White House through the gift of Walter H. and Phyllis J. Shorenstein Foundation, 1994).
In 1970, First Lady Patricia Nixon and the Committee for the Preservation of the White House began a program to furnish the Red, Green, and Blue Rooms in high quality American decorative arts from the early 19th century. Major examples by cabinetmakers Duncan Phyfe and Charles-Honore Lannuier were acquired for the Green and Red Rooms.
See the items in a flickr slideshow.
You Might Also Like
-
-
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...
-
Splendor and Scrutiny of White House Tableware
When Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Grégoire-Trudeau attended a State Dinner at the White House o...
-
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...
-
Official White House China: From the 18th to the 21st Centuries
The house in which the President of the United States lives has always had a great fascination for American citizens...
-
Abraham Lincoln's White House
On a hot summer day in August 1864, Abraham Lincoln strolled from his Second-Floor office to the lawn outside the Executive...
-
Nell Arthur's Memorial Window
Stained glass, a medieval art, was revisited in the historically retrospective nineteenth century. The art was a prominent feature of...
-
Uriah Levy's Gift to the Nation
For nearly twenty seven years, a full-length bronze sculpture of Thomas Jefferson was displayed at the center of the North...
-
Reflections After the Fire
This shaving mirror, one of a pair, has a remarkable history. It not only reflected the face of President James...
-
Artists Perform for the President
The abundance of fine artists who performed during the Theodore Roosevelt era continued to appear during succeeding administrations, and President...
-
Caroline Harrison's 1891 Music Room
The Green Room, positioned between the East Room and the Blue Room, is one of the principal parlors of the...
-
Romantic Expansions
In our own time thoughts about “the West” have been rather vividly colored by popular culture imagery depicting the rugged indi...