Curator Lorraine Waxman Pearce with Visitors in the State Dining Room

In this photograph taken by Robert L. Knudsen, visitors join White House curator Lorraine Waxman Pearce in front of a Chinese Coromandel screen first loaned and subsequently given to the White House by Mrs. Boyd Hatch on July 6, 1961. The screen as shown in the photograph was first used in the State Dining Room, it was later moved to the Center Hall on the Second Floor of the Executive Mansion. The State Dining Room is located on the State Floor of the White House. Though Thomas Jefferson used the space as his office, for most of the history of the White House the State Dining room has been a place for large meetings, receptions, and formal events. It was enlarged during President Theodore Roosevelts 1902 renovations and can seat up to 140 people. As the second largest area in the White House, the State Dining Room is used for formal dinners to honor heads of state and other dignitaries.