Collection An Artist Visits the White House Past
From its construction in 1792, until the 1902 renovation that shaped the modern identity and functions of the interior of the White...
The Grand Illumination by Peter Waddell
- Artist
- Peter Waddell
- Date of Work
- 1891
- Medium
- Oil
- Type
- Historical Depiction
- Credit
- The White House Historical Association
The Grand Illumination by Peter Waddell
Sunset of the Gaslight Age, 1891. Peter Waddell, The Grand Illumination, oil on canvas, 55 x 73.
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.
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