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The collection of fine art at the White House has evolved and grown over time. The collection began with mostly presidential portraits, commissioned or purchased by Congress, or donated by presidential descendants. In the era before photography, some presidents invited painters to set up studios in the White House to record significant events and paint their likeness. In the late
The White House Diplomatic Reception Room is perhaps best known for its scenic wallpaper, installed during the John F. Kennedy administration in 1961. The highly detailed panorama, designed by French artist Jean-Julien Deltil and produced by Jean Zuber and Company, depicts notable American places including Niagara Falls, Boston Harbor, West Point, and the Natural Bridge in Virginia. It is worth noting
Curators are indispensable to historic sites and museums today. Utilizing their subject expertise and training in the field, they conduct research, organize exhibits, acquire and loan items, and manage the preservation of historic art and artifacts. Today, the White House Collection contains more than 60,000 decorative and fine arts pieces, overseen by a team of curators. While curatorial staff members have
Historians have previously discussed the wider impact of technological innovations that facilitated the emergence of the illustrated press in the mid-nineteenth century.1 Founded in 1857, Harper’s Weekly offered its readers not only the opportunity to read about the news but also visually bear witness to it for the next six decades. It covered politics, society, and war, as great scholarly at
In honor of Women’s History Month, we are exploring the talented women artists whose portraits, sculptures, and paintings are a part of the White House Collection. American University graduate fellow Sarah Fling also discusses artistic first ladies who brought their love of art to the White House.
Isamu Noguchi was one of the most innovative and prolific sculptors of the twentieth century. He was born on November 17, 1904 in Los Angeles, California, to an American mother and a Japanese father and spent most of his childhood in Japan. When he was thirteen, his mother sent him to Indiana to receive an American education.1After graduating from high school,
The White House is more than just a home and office for the President of the United States, it is also a museum housing a large collection of art. As the nation has grown and changed, so has the White House Collection. Explore the White House Collection and its uniquely American stories from diverse and innovative artists.
Gilbert Stuart is one of the most famous portraitists in American history, best known for his unfinished Athenaeum depiction of President George Washington. Gilbert Stuart was born in Saunderstown, Rhode Island on December 3, 1755, the youngest of three children. His family moved to Newport, Rhode Island a few years later, and Stuart began painting as a teenager. He initially studied under