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Lincoln Bedroom Staged for a Renovation

This photograph, taken by Robert L. Knudsen on October 24, 1963, shows the Lincoln Bedroom apparently under renovation. The effect was staged by Chief Usher J. B. West and the White House Carpentry Shop, as First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy used the unfinished rooms as an excuse to amend an overnight guest invitation. The Queens' Bedroom, then called the Rose Guest Room, was similarly staged for the ruse. In actuality, the Lincoln Bedroom was not drastically refurbished during the Kennedy administration, although First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy oversaw minor alterations including the installation of a chandelier and the addition of slipper chairs with fringe selected by interior designer Stéphane Boudin.
Photographer
Robert L. Knudsen
Date of Work
October 24, 1963
Type
Photograph
Credit
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum/NARA