white house history #14

White House

HISTORY

Journal of the White house

historical Association

number 14

The Kennedy

WhITe hOUSe:

Part TwoLeGACy

White House

HISTORY

A journal published by the

White House Historical Association

Washington

This ebook was originally published as White House History #14, 2004. ISSN: 0748-8114. C Copyright 2004 by the White House Historical Association. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior written permission of the White House Historical Association.

The views presented by the authors are theirs and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the White House Historical Association.

White House

HISTORYWhite House Historical Association

Washington

Number fourteeN • Winter 2004

2 foreword William Seale

4 Circa 1961: the Kennedy White House Interiors Elaine Rice Bachmann

22 the Historic Guide to America’s House William Seale

36 major Publications of the White House Historical Association

39 A New Look at the John f. Kennedys and the Arts Elise K. Kirk

52 A Small Slice of Kennedy Decor:

the Queens’ Sitting room William G. Allman

58 About the Authors




To obtain printed copies please see White House History: Collection Set 3

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Foreword

This is the second of our two issues on the Kennedy administration

and the White House. It is of special interest to the White House

Historical Association, which was founded at that time, as part of the

overall historical program introduced to the White House by the first lady.

The articles here presented continue the theme of innovation and feature

for the most part traditions already in place at the White House that were

dusted off and improved during the Kennedy administration.

It was not only that “the Kennedys”—as the administration is uni-

versally remembered—took so strong a personal interest in music and décor;

they realized the value of such items as soft news that, broadcast through

the press, provided human interest for the public and drew attention not

only to the White House but to the affairs of the day. So much of what

they did to the house seemed to respond to a question down inside every one

of us: “What would I do if I lived there?” It was fascinating to see how

the Kennedys answered that question on their terms.

The White House seems more magical than it is, but it is that

appearance of magic, that wondrous mystique, that covers up the reality of

hard work and tension that naturally go along with living and working

there every day. About the only relaxation from the urgency is the short

time on Inauguration Day between the departure of the outgoing president

and the return of the new president from the Capitol. Only a matter of a

few hours, it is the only lazy time the White House ever has. Even the

clocks seem to tick sleepily, as the staff, as busy as ever though not as emo-

tionally pressed, prepares for the new players in what Abraham Lincoln

called “this big white house.”

Presidents cultivate the special qualities of the White House as one

means of reaching the public. The Kennedy administration did this with a

flair and made it news, at time when in its newness, the vast sweep of

press coverage carried the story worldwide. It was in the context of this

general awareness that the White House became the foremost symbol of the

American presidency.

William Seale

editor, White House History

Donald J. Crump’s

photo of the White House

across the South Lawn,

showing Andrew Jackson’s

magnolias to the left of the

South Portico and Harry

S. Truman’s to the right.

Crump who died this past

winter, was with White

House History from the

first, always ready with

his photographic skill

and editorial advise.

PhotograPh by DoNaLD J. CrumP

For the white house historiCaL

assoCiatioN




e L A I N e r I C e b A C H m A N N

he word “style” has become so

ubiquitous in descriptions of the Kennedy White House

that a future scholar could be led to believe that all earlier

residents of the famous house lived within its walls unin-

spired. While there may be some truth to this conclusion

in a very few cases, evidence of the undeniably stylish

interiors of such presidents as Chester Arthur, benjamin

Harrison, and theodore roosevelt is well documented.1

Later 20th-century presidents, including richard Nixon,

ronald reagan, and bill Clinton also left their own deco-

rative arts impressions on the White House, some even

surpassing the Kennedys in the acquisition of period fur-

nishings and efforts to re-create the historically accurate.2

And while the Kennedys, and particularly Jacqueline

Kennedy, are often credited with restoring history and

beauty to the White House through a program of “restora-

tion” rather than “redecoration,” their efforts were not

unique, as the earlier work of Grace Coolidge and Lou

Hoover would attest.3

Why then, 40 years after their fabled “thousand

days” in the White House, do John and Jacqueline

Kennedy remain firmly fixed in the national consciousness

as the arbiters of good taste in the White House and the

most prominent champions of its role as the premier his-

toric house in the nation? Certainly the reason has much to

do with the brevity of their days as president and first lady

and the tragic circumstances that ended the Kennedy

administration. Just as surely, the enormous popular appeal

of this young couple, who personified the glamour and

sophistication of 1960s high society, left much of the nation

star struck: Hollywood could hardly have cast a better pair

for the roles of host and hostess of America’s New frontier.

but while these elements account for the Kennedys’

permanent status as international style icons, it is the sub-

stance of their style that marks their true contribution to

the history of the White House. the Kennedys’ personal

interest in making their home a showcase of art and culture

ultimately reached beyond the walls of the White House to

affect the American people’s sense of their own history.

Coinciding with the burgeoning industry of printed media

Opposite: Robert Frost and President Kennedy at the White

House on the day of Kennedy’s inauguration. Frost had

delivered his poem, “A Gift Outright,” at the ceremony,

January 20, 1961. Right: Interior decorator “Sister” Parish

(Mrs. Henry Parish II) who had designed rooms for the

Kennedys before they moved into the White House, was

brought in to advise on the family quarters.

T

Circa 1961: the Kennedy

White House Interiors

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and television, and preceding the age of tabloid journal-

ism, the Kennedys’ residence in the White House occupies

a unique period in history, a period ideally suited to broad-

cast their ideas to the nation and seal John and Jacqueline

Kennedy’s place among the most stylish residents of the

White House.

If, as White House historian William Seale states, it

was theodore roosevelt’s job to convey to the American

people the meaning of his new presidency in the renova-

tion of 1902,4 then it was John f. Kennedy’s job to do the

same in 1961. the youngest president in history when

elected, and the first roman Catholic, coming on the heels

of the hero-general and elder statesman Dwight D.

eisenhower, Kennedy looked to establish himself on the

national stage as more than the scion of a privileged east

Coast family. His youthful, energetic image, honed by

years of carefully orchestrated media attention, helped get

him elected. In a time when his Irish immigrant roots still

labeled him a foreigner to some, Kennedy emphasized his

potential to motivate young Americans, whatever their

race or ethnicity, in shaping the future of the country.

National events and international crises would define his

political role on the world’s stage, while at home a domes-

tic agenda focused on cultivating the arts shaped his image

6 WHIte HouSe HIStorY (Number 14)This ebook was originally published as White House History #14, 2004. ISSN: 0748-8114. C Copyright 2004 by the White House Historical Association. All rights reserved.



Above: The Yellow Oval Room looking toward President

Kennedy’s bedroom. Some of Mrs. Kennedy’s personal

items included in the redecoration are the large fur over

the sofa and the pair of French consoles. Opposite:

Decorator’s “story board” with fabric and trim samples

for the Yellow Oval Room, 1962.Le

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as an advocate for all that was “the best and brightest” in

American culture. the White House became an extension

of that agenda. Like theodore roosevelt, John Kennedy

sought to create a backdrop for his presidency rooted in

the great history of the building and its inhabitants—and

in doing so legitimized his place as a rightful successor to

that legacy.

Kennedy’s inauguration in January 1961 lit a spark

of enthusiasm among the many artists and writers who

were invited to attend. the inclusion of eminent American

poet robert frost among the speakers that day was herald-

ed as the first artistic achievement of the Kennedy admin-

istration and a sign that the arts would play a prominent

role.5 fortunately, for those hopeful for government advo-

cacy of the arts, at the president’s side was a first lady

whose cultured tastes and interest in history equaled and,

by most accounts, surpassed his own. Jacqueline bouvier

Kennedy, at 31 one of the youngest first ladies in history,

had strong interest in and knowledge of art and literature.

Her education in fine art and literature complemented the

president’s deep interest in history and biography.

Longtime friend William Walton described the Kennedys’

mutual interest in the arts saying, “It is woven into the pat-

tern of their lives.”6 It is no surprise, then, that advocacy

of the arts became a priority during their time in

Washington. but while previous first ladies chose to pur-

sue their interests quietly, in the shadow of their husband’s

work, Jacqueline Kennedy quickly emerged on the nation-

al scene as a leader in her own right. by choosing to focus

her attention on the home, she managed to stay within the

traditional confines for women of the period. However,

her efforts to dramatically enrich the image of the White

House mark a serious attempt by a first lady to establish

her own national agenda.

In her prize-winning essay for Vogue’s “Prix de

Paris,” written at the age of 21, Jacqueline bouvier imag-

ined herself an “over-all Art Director of the twentieth

Century.”7 the prescience of her words is remarkable

given the influence she ultimately had on fashion, interior

decoration, and architectural preservation from the early

1960s until her death in 1994. A disappointing visit to the

executive mansion when she was 11 left a deep impres-

sion, one she immediately acted upon when she knew she

was to become first lady. recalling that visit, she told jour-

nalist Hugh Sidey, “from the outside I remember the feel-

ing of the place. but inside, all I remember is shuffling

through. there wasn’t even a booklet you could buy.

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Circa 1961: the Kennedy White House Interiors 9This ebook was originally published as White House History #14, 2004. ISSN: 0748-8114. C Copyright 2004 by the White House Historical Association. All rights reserved.



Top opposite: Henry Francis

du Pont, right, receives the

first Thomas Jefferson

Award from Arturo Pini di

san Miniato, president of the

National Society of Interior

Designers. Du Pont was

honored for his work

as chairman of the White

House Decoration

Committee, to which First

Lady Jacqueline Kennedy

appointed him.

Below opposite: The French

interior decorator, Stéphane

Boudin, photographed by

First Lady Jacqueline

Kennedy in late 1961. He is

shown in the Treaty Room

as it was being decorated

under his direction.

Right: Fabric samples

for the Red Room.

Overleaf: Perhaps the most

striking of all the Kennedy

transformations was the Red

Room. The design motif was

inspired by American

cabinetmaking of the 1820s.

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mount Vernon and the National Gallery and the fbI made

a far greater impression.”8 She experienced this same feel-

ing of disappointment after touring her new home with

mamie eisenhower in December 1960. Accustomed to

living in houses furnished with fine antiques and in interi-

ors that reflected the social position of her family, mrs.

Kennedy was shocked to realize that the president of the

united States was expected to live and entertain in rooms

that she felt resembled a second-rate hotel. by then

Jacqueline Kennedy was already planning the conversion

of the family quarters into a suitable living space for her

and the president and their two young children, having

secured the services of society decorator mrs. Henry Parish

II. A doyenne of domestic interiors, “Sister” Parish was yet

to achieve her ultimate fame as the senior partner in Parish




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Above: Mrs. Kennedy’s bedroom,

designed by Sister Parish

and Jacqueline Kennedy.

Opposite: Fabric samples for

Mrs. Kennedy’s bedroom.




Hadley, and mentor to a generation of decorators, when she

conspired with Jacqueline Kennedy to transform the private

rooms of the White House into a home suitable for a young

family. Within two weeks of moving into the White House,

the Kennedys had spent the entire $50,000 appropriation

for improvements on the private quarters alone, which

included the creation of a kitchen and private dining room

for the family. Sister Parish’s characteristic chintz-laden,

casually elegant style defined the family rooms, which

in some part were re-creations of the interiors of the

Kennedys’ Georgetown townhouse.

Parish’s ambition to be a part of the more historically

guided work in the Kennedy White House is evidenced by

her role in the transformation of the Yellow oval room, a family

living room in the private quarters. this room, where

President and mrs. eisenhower had placed companion

television sets, became a Louis XVI-style semiformal

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Above: Caroline Kennedy’s

bedroom as decorated by

Sister Parish, May 8, 1962.

Opposite: Fabric samples

for Caroline Kennedy’s and

John Kennedy Jr.’s rooms.

parlor where President Kennedy chose to greet foreign

dignitaries and hold private meetings. the extensive refur-

bishment was sponsored in large part by donors to the

restoration project willing to furnish nonpublic rooms. In

so doing, the Kennedys paved the way for soliciting pri-

vate funds to redecorate the family areas of the White

House.9 furthermore, Jacqueline Kennedy’s choice of a

leading society decorator set a precedent followed in later

years by Nancy reagan and barbara bush, who hired,

respectively, Hollywood’s ted Graber and mark Hampton

of New York to decorate their family’s private rooms.

Satisfied that her family would have suitable accom-

modations, Jacqueline Kennedy expanded her redecorating

plans to include the State rooms of the White House as

well. even before moving in, she began educating herself

about the history of the White House and its furnishings,

requesting that relevant material from the Library of

Congress be sent to her in Palm beach, where she was

recuperating from her son John’s birth prior to the inaugu-

ration. Not satisfied merely to replace curtains and carpets,

as might be expected of any new president’s wife,

Jacqueline Kennedy was determined to obliterate the insti-

tutional aesthetic that pervaded the White House and make

it instead a home reflecting the lives of those who had

lived there and the historic events that had taken place

within its walls. Instead of department store reproductions,

she envisioned museum-quality furniture from the period

of the earliest occupancy of the White House. Dismayed

by the prevalence of 1950s-era carpeting and curtains, she

envisioned grandly designed window treatments and rugs

based on historic documents. And where there was little to

show visitors that evoked the great story of America and

its people, Jacqueline Kennedy envisioned a White House

that was a showcase for the finest examples of American

art and culture—a residence befitting the nation’s highest

elected official, with an American stateliness and grandeur

to match in power the palaces of europe.

Jacqueline Kennedy made the unprecedented move

of leaking her plans to the press even before her husband

was inaugurated.10 Not intimidated by warnings that the

public would not approve of the first lady making changes

to the White House, Jacqueline Kennedy trusted her

instincts that if done correctly, a redecoration based on

“restoration” would be viewed as a legitimate initiative for

the president’s wife. Similar ideas of establishing historic

“period” decoration in the White House had been pursued

by Grace Coolidge in 1924, Lou Hoover in the 1930s, and

even mamie eisenhower in 1960.11 Decoration by commit-

tee had been an established method for making decorative

changes within the White House since the mid-1920s.

Seen as a way to circumvent public criticism of first

ladies’ efforts to redecorate, these advisory committees

often failed to achieve their goals due to internal conflict

over how to proceed with the various “restorations” of

White House rooms.12

Where earlier efforts ultimately lacked significant

impact on the White House interiors, Jacqueline

Kennedy’s program had the benefit of better historical

timing. Grace Coolidge’s efforts in soliciting historic fur-

nishings for the White House had elicited no excitement

from the public during the burgeoning Colonial revival

period of the early 1920s, but in the years following World

War II, when the united States viewed itself firmly as the

premier world power, interest in Americana had become

more prevalent. furthermore, recent tax laws had made

charitable giving far more appealing to those able to make

significant donations. the first lady’s enormous public

appeal and social connections also played a major role in

the success of her program. the Kennedys had the ability

to call upon a host of wealthy and influential friends to

donate to the project. And those who did get calls already

knew Jacqueline Kennedy from her days as a debutante

and senator’s wife and were now eager to become

acquainted with the new first lady who was quickly

becoming the most admired woman in America. this

admiration proved mutually beneficial; wealthy donors

became “friends” of the Kennedys and the White House

received furnishings priced far beyond any government

appropriation.

on february 23, 1961, it was announced that the

wealthy collector Henry francis du Pont, founder of the

Winterthur museum of American Decorative Arts in

Delaware, would chair the fine Arts Committee for the

White House, with Jacqueline Kennedy serving as hon-

orary chair. the committee was populated with wealthy

society figures, both Democrats and republicans, whom

marianne means so aptly described in her 1963 profile of

mrs. Kennedy as “antiquarians with income permitting

generosity.”13 Among the most influential were mr. and

mrs. Charles Wrightsman, collectors of 18th-century




Opposite: Fabric samples for President Kennedy’s bedroom

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President Kennedy signing the

Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in the

restored Treaty Room of the

White House, October 7, 1963.

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french furniture, a period of particular interest to mrs.

Kennedy. Jayne Wrightsman served as a mentor to

Jacqueline Kennedy, introducing her to the french decora-

tor whose work would ultimately have the greatest impact

on the White House interiors.

With the fine Arts Committee securing donations,

mass media secured the admiration of the public. by 1961,

most Americans owned a television set and were inundated

daily with images of the glamorous first family.14

magazines and newspapers, already focused on every

move the Kennedys made, created a cause cé lè bre of her

initiative to beautify the White House. A plethora of

women’s magazines and the popularity of “women’s

pages” in newspapers provided a constant forum for tidbits

of information about mrs. Kennedy’s redecoration of the

White House. the first lady’s appeal for public assistance

in her efforts to restore beauty and history to the White

House captured the national imagination.

Immediately offers of furniture began pouring into

Winterthur’s post office, where Henry du Pont’s secretary

dutifully replied to each letter describing “Grandma’s rock-

ing chair,” or “a piece we’ve always been told came from

the White House.” for the first time, Americans felt wel-

comed into the process of decorating the White House.

And while most of the furnishings acquired between 1961

and 1963 were found through antique dealers and commit-

tee members, a few important pieces came directly from

public solicitation.

most important, the public’s interest in the program

led to a renewed appreciation for the house and its history.

Improved mass transportation meant that more people than

ever were traveling, and the White House became a “must-

see” destination in the nation’s capital. the publication of

the guidebook—a book Jacqueline Kennedy’s critics feared

would commercialize the White House—meant that every-

one could take something home from what was now

regarded as the most historic house in the nation. the tele-

vised tour of february 1962 was the pinnacle media event

of its day. the television camera so adroitly exploited by

her husband during the 1960 presidential campaign in turn

became Jacqueline Kennedy’s tool in forever sealing the

public’s approval for her refurbishment of the White

House.

Henry du Pont’s role as chair of the fine Arts

Committee placed him in the most public role of defining

the Kennedy interiors. As far as the public was concerned,

it was the antiquarian du Pont, revered as the most impor-

tant collector of American decorative arts of his day, who

would be responsible for ensuring the historical integrity of

the White House State rooms. Du Pont’s former home

turned museum, Winterthur, outside Wilmington,

Delaware, contained nine stories of period rooms repre-

senting American interiors from the 17th through the 19th

centuries. Jacqueline Kennedy visited Winterthur in may

1961 and looked to it as a model for the authenticity she

hoped to bring to the White House. but while du Pont’s

connections in the world of American antiques proved use-

ful to the project, the fact remained that the White House

was not a museum. In spite of the passage of Public Law

87-286 in September 1961 declaring a permanent White

House furnishings collection and the establishment of a

curator’s office, the primary function of the house as an

official residence called for a grandiosity that transcended

a museum interior.15

thanks to Jayne Wrightsman, Jacqueline Kennedy

called upon the services of europe’s celebrated society

decorator, Sté phane boudin, to infuse an international per-

spective into the decidedly American house. the principal

designer for the Parisian firm Jansen & Co., boudin had

worked with such high-profile clients as the Duke and

Duchess of Windsor, elsie de Wolfe, and Lady olive

baillie. boudin was celebrated for his ability to translate a

sense of historical grandeur in rooms comfortable enough

for modern living. While he also guided the restoration of

historic interiors such as empress Josephine’s malmaison,

a museum house, and for Charles de Gaulle’s guest house,

the Grand trianon at Versailles, boudin’s work was not

characterized by a strict adherence to one historical period

but rather by a more artistic interpretation of the past.16

Ironically, it was boudin’s international style that became

representative of the newly restored “American” interiors

in the White House.

In utilizing the talents of two of the most influential

interior designers of her day—Parish and boudin—and

with the influence du Pont added in, Jacqueline Kennedy

created a White House that was one part cozy family

home, one part museum, and one part glittering interna-

tional stage. It is a testament to her diplomatic savvy and

mastery of detail that mrs. Kennedy, who by all accounts

maintained personal control over her project at all times,

was able to coordinate the work of these three unique per-

sonalities, sometimes implementing the ideas of all three in




a single room. Perhaps more impressive is the fact that the

press never discovered the extent to which the frenchman

boudin was involved in the project. the most controver-

sial evidence of his role appeared in the Washington Post

in September 1962, in a series by maxine Cheshire,17 but

by that time public admiration for the project seems to

have surpassed concern over a foreigner selecting fabrics

and fringe in the blue room.

As the White House interiors evolved, with each

room’s period furnishings described in scholarly detail to

the American public, history came to represent good taste.

Prior to the Kennedy restoration, America’s idea of histori-

cal interiors was largely shaped by images of Colonial

Williamsburg with its staid, white plaster walls and simple

brown furniture. the restoration of the White House inte-

riors under Jacqueline Kennedy’s direction inspired a

national craze for preservation. mrs. Kennedy’s program

has been emulated in public residences throughout the

country. During the 1960s, governors’ mansions in several

states undertook historic restorations of their interiors,

often simultaneously establishing furnishings committees

and nonprofit foundations to ensure long-term

preservation.18

the fabrics produced for the White House took on

an immediate authenticity based on their use in America’s

most famous historic house. Individual elements of the

restored White House rooms, such as scenic wallpaper and

the celebrated gold-embroidered cerise fabric produced for

the red room (based on a 19th-century document)

became immediately recognized icons of 19th-century

American period design. to this day, the manhattan firm

of Scalamandré , Inc., the original manufacturers of the

red room fabric, leads their promotional material with

a reference to their involvement in the creation of the

Kennedy White House interiors.19

by November 1963, much of Jacqueline Kennedy’s

vision had been realized, including the redecoration of her

husband’s office, which was being fitted with new curtains

and carpeting while the Kennedys were away in Dallas.

What began as public fascination with mrs. Kennedy and

her project became a reverential respect for the vision of

this brave young widow. Had there been a second

Kennedy administration, perhaps more criticism would

have emerged, of the kind introduced by maxine Cheshire.

over the ensuing years, with the inevitable change that

comes to all public residences, critics appeared within the

White House itself. there was even what has been

referred to as a “de-Kennedyization” of the interiors dur-

ing the Nixon administration, which political analysts

might attribute to President and mrs. Nixon’s continued

hard feelings after the loss to Kennedy in 1960 but which

was also fueled by changes in curatorial scholarship in

early American design.20 regardless of questions about its

historical accuracy, no other administration can claim so

many achievements in preserving the White House for

future generations.

the years between 1961 and 1963 are a watershed

in White House history. though marked by good intent,

all earlier attempts to “restore” a historical appearance to

the White House failed due to lack of infrastructure and

government support to back up the efforts. the Kennedy

restoration ensured that never again would White House

furniture be auctioned off indiscriminately or “lost” in a

warehouse. the office of the White House curator, initially

one person operating out of a ground floor storeroom, now

houses a small staff devoted to the preservation and inter-

pretation of the White House Collection. the effort within

the White House is backed up by valuable external

support from the National Park Service.

And Jacqueline Kennedy’s fine Arts Committee has

evolved into the Committee for the Preservation of the

White House, continuing to oversee all aspects of the dec-

oration of the State rooms. the Kennedy restoration, so

clearly identified as mrs. Kennedy’s initiative, also marks

the most significant shift in the identity of America’s first

lady away from the traditional White House hostess. Since

then, first ladies have assumed increasingly more promi-

nent roles and are, in fact, expected by the public to work

as advocates for national issues.

A 1961 article in Horizon magazine documents the

achievements of John and Jacqueline Kennedy in support-

ing the arts in Washington and sponsoring the law to pre-

serve the historical integrity of the White House interiors.

In it, author Douglass Cater praises the Kennedys for their

efforts and asks the rhetorical question, “Could a future

President and first Lady use the same discretion in pro-

moting culture as the present ones?”21 fortunately for the

White House, the protective measures put in place by the

Kennedys ensure that while less culturally motivated resi-

dents may move in, the likelihood of any diminishing of

the historical integrity of the house is minimal. As for

future residents who aspire to be style-setters to the nation,

the brilliant precedent set by the Kennedys will undoubted-

ly cast a long shadow over their efforts for years to come.




1. for a comprehensive study of restoration and redecoration in the White

House prior to 1960, see William Seale, The President’s House: A History

(Washington, D.C.: White House Historical Association, 1986).

2. the most prolific period of acquisition of 18th- and 19th-century furnish-

ings occurred during the tenure of Clement e. Conger as White House

curator. Conger guided the development of the White House Collection

from 1970 to 1986.

3. Grace Coolidge, in 1924, appointed an official committee of advisers to

select historical period furnishings. Her campaign, while ultimately

unsuccessful, did establish the precedent for period rooms within the

White House, designating the Green room as a federal-style parlor. In

the early 1930s, Lou Hoover completed a catalog of the historical fur-

nishings of the White House, sponsoring the first serious research into the

collection. In a time before curatorial control, when most of the original

furnishings were already gone from the house, her efforts were of little

impact. See Seale, President’s House, for thorough descriptions of these

earlier efforts to establish historical authenticity in White House interiors.

4. See William Seale, “theodore roosevelt’s White House,” White House

History, no. 11 (2002): 29–37.

5. for a profile of the Kennedy administration’s early advocacy of the arts,

see Douglass Cater, “the Kennedy Look in the Arts,” Horizon, April

1961, 4–17. Cater states that the idea to invite artists and writers to the

inauguration originated with Kay Halle, an influential Democrat and

member of the Inaugural Committee. Cater further credits newly tapped

Secretary of the Interior Stewart udall with the idea to invite frost to

deliver a poem as part of the ceremony. Apparently udall became

acquainted with frost while the latter was consultant to the Library of

Congress.

6. Quoted in marianne means, The Woman in the White House (New York:

random House, 1963), 274.

7. See Cater, “Kennedy Look in the Arts,” 9.

8. Hugh Sidey, “the first Lady brings History and beauty to the White

House,” Life, September 1, 1961, reprinted in White House History, no.

13 (2003): 6–17.

9. the most significant campaign for furnishing the private rooms of the

White House was sponsored by ronald and Nancy reagan, who raised

nearly a million dollars to redecorate the family quarters between 1980

and 1988. As cited in William Seale, The White House: The History of an

American Idea, 2d ed. (Washington, D.C.: White House Historical

Association, 2001).

10. See betty boyd Caroli, First Ladies (New York: oxford university Press,

1987), 222. Caroli notes that through her social secretary, Letitia

baldrige, Jacqueline Kennedy’s plans to make the White House a “show-

case of American art and history” were mentioned in the New York Times

on November 23, 1960.

11. See Seale, President’s House, 865–70, 908–12; James m. Abbott and

elaine S. rice, Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House

Restoration (New York: Van Nostrand reinhold, 1997), 17.

12. of particular note are the efforts of Harriet barnes Pratt, who served on

advisory committees for furnishing the White House from the Coolidge

to the truman administrations. mrs. Pratt fervently pursued the goal of

establishing period decoration in the White House rooms, advocating the

first formal government oversight of the White House Collection of fur-

nishings. unfortunately her efforts, and those of others, were often

thwarted by political infighting among committee members and a lack of

support for funding White House acquisitions. See Seale, President’s

House, 864–70.

13. means, Woman in the White House, 280.

14. Caroli, First Ladies, 221.

15. In march 1961 Lorraine Waxman Pearce, a graduate of the Winterthur

Program in early American Culture, was appointed the first White House

curator. Pearce’s expertise in the work of french é migré cabinetmaker

Charles-Honoré Lannuier and in french influence on early-19th-century

American interiors made her an excellent choice to oversee the installa-

tion of the new “period” rooms in the White House and to provide a

scholarly voice in the restoration.

16. boudin’s decorating style and his extensive role in the Kennedy restora-

tion are documented in the 1995 exhibition catalog, A Frenchman in

Camelot: The Decoration of the Kennedy White House by Stéphane

Boudin (Cold Spring, N.Y.: boscobel restoration, 1995), by James

Abbott and elaine rice, as well as in Abbott and rice, Designing

Camelot. James Abbott has continued to document the relationship

between boudin’s work in the White House and his redecoration of

Leeds Castle, in Kent, england, for Lady olive baillie, for a forthcoming

publication.

17. maxine Cheshire, “they Never Introduce m. boudin,” Washington Post,

September 9, 1962.

18. See Cathy Keating, with mike brake and Patti rosenfeld, Our

Governor’s Mansions (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1997).

19. It was Sté phane boudin who supplied the historic document for the red

room fabric to Scalamandré . unbeknown to the American public,

boudin also supervised the production of the famous blue room “eagle”

fabric, which was secretly produced by tassinari and Châ tel in Paris. See

Abbott and rice, Designing Camelot, 115.

20. James Abbott, “restoration: twenty-five Years of Interpretation,” bache-

lor’s thesis, Vassar College, 1986. Abbott describes Clement e. Conger’s

direction of the White House interiors away from what the latter consid-

ered to be european-inspired decoration and to establish more authentic

American period rooms. Interestingly, some later presidents and first

ladies have returned specific elements of the Kennedy era to the White

House rooms, perhaps in homage to the restoration of 1961–63.

examples include Nancy reagan’s placement of a center table in the

blue room and the return of a tentlike valance to the same room during

the Clinton administration.

21. Cater, “Kennedy Look in the Arts,” 17.

N o t e S

Ro

be

Rt

F.

SiS

So

n,

na

tio

na

l G

eo

GR

ap

hic

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aG

e c

ol

le

ct

ion

W I l l I A M S e A l e

The first edition of The White House:

An Historic Guide was published by the White house

historical Association in 1962 with the help of the

National Geographic Society. It was Mrs. Kennedy’s

wish that such a book be written, and she actively par-

ticipated in the editing. Now in its recently published

22nd edition, the guide has sold more than 4.5 million

copies since 1962.

this photo essay takes a look back at the early years of

the guidebook and from its pages provides a selection

of images of the interiors of the White house as they

appeared in the book’s first edition in 1962 and its

current edition, 41 years later.

Opposite: National Geographic photographer

George F. Mobley climbed a fire ladder to photograph

the White House for the cover of the first edition of the

Guide in 1962. The classic photograph was used again

on the cover of the 22nd edition in 2003. The view

also captured the Washington Monument, the Jefferson

Memorial, the Tidal Basin, and the distant Potomac

River. Mobley underwent training with the fire

department to climb the ladder.

the historic Guide to

America’s house




the White house

G U I d e b O O K p R e S e N tAt I O N A N d S A l e S

24 WhIte hOUSe hIStORY (Number 14)

Above: David E. Finley, presi-

dent of the White House

Historical Association, presents

the completed White House

guide to President and Mrs.

Kennedy in June 1962.

Right: Lady Bird Johnson

presented a special inscribed

copy of the one-millionth copy

of the guide sold to Mrs. C. J.

Vessell of Omaha, Nebraska

on June 17, 1964.

Jo

hn

F.

Ke

nn

ed

y l

ibR

aR

y

lib

Ra

Ry

oF

co

nG

Re

SS

na

tio

na

l a

Rc

hiv

eS




the historic Guide to America’s house 25This ebook was originally published as White House History #14, 2004. ISSN: 0748-8114. C Copyright 2004 by the White House Historical Association. All rights reserved.



The guidebook was sold

on the street and read

by tourists as seen in

these three random

candids taken in 1962.

lib

Ra

Ry

oF

co

nG

Re

SS

Jo

hn

F.

Ke

nn

ed

y l

ibR

aR

y

wh

ite

ho

uS

e h

iSt

oR

ica

l a

SS

oc

iat

ion




the Oval Office as redecorated for president

Kennedy (opposite) and as it appeared in the 22nd

edition of the guide in 2003 (above). Use of the name

“Oval Office” began toward the end of the Kennedy

administration but did not enter the White house

vernacular until the Nixon administration.

t h e O vA l O f f I c e

ph

ot

o b

y b

Ru

ce

wh

ite

Fo

R t

he

wh

ite

ho

uS

e h

iSt

oR

ica

l a

SS

oc

iat

ion

28 WhIte hOUSe hIStORY (Number 14)This ebook was originally published as White House History #14, 2004. ISSN: 0748-8114. C Copyright 2004 by the White House Historical Association. All rights reserved.



wh

ite

ho

uS

e h

iSt

oR

ica

l a

SS

oc

iat

ion




the treaty Room, seen in the

first edition of the Guide

(opposite) and today (above)

in the 22nd edition. Originally

a bedroom, by the 1850s this

room was being used as part

of the office suite. After the

building of the West Wing in

1902, the room became the

president’s study. In 1931

Mrs. herbert hoover styled

the study the Monroe Room

and used reproductions of

furniture Monroe used in the

White house. because the

protocol that was prelude

to the peace treaty ending the

Spanish-American War was

signed here in 1898 and the

Nuclear test ban treaty in

1963, the room was renamed

the treaty Room in the

Kennedy renovation and

decorated in a flamboyant

victorian manner, using

Grant’s cabinet table.

president George h. W.

bush returned the room to

use as a study, which it

remains.

t h e t R e At Y R O O M

ph

ot

o b

y p

et

eR

vit

al

e F

oR

th

e w

hit

e h

ou

Se

hiS

to

Ric

al a

SS

oc

iat

ion

wh

ite

ho

uS

e h

iSt

oR

ica

l a

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oc

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ion




Apart from reupholstery and new curtains (not in

place in the 1962 view, opposite) little was done

to change the east Room when Kennedy was in

office. the red tennessee marble mantels were

painted white and “marbelized.” Original chande-

liers from 1902 were and remain in place. Over

several administrations, alterations included new

hangings, a new floor, and rugs for occasional use.

during the clinton administration the paint was

removed from the mantels and the east Room

assumed the appearance (above) it has today.

t h e e A S t R O O M

ph

ot

o b

y b

Ru

ce

wh

ite

Fo

R t

he

wh

ite

ho

uS

e h

iSt

oR

ica

l a

SS

oc

iat

ion

32 WhIte hOUSe hIStORY (Number 14)This ebook was originally published as White House History #14, 2004. ISSN: 0748-8114. C Copyright 2004 by the White House Historical Association. All rights reserved.



pictured above in 1962, the Green Room was the

first of the revised rooms to be completed by

Mrs. Kennedy. the chandelier and silk wall

covering remain from franklin d. Roosevelt and

truman administrations while the furniture

conforms to the federal period.

t h e G R e e N R O O M

wh

ite

ho

uS

e h

iSt

oR

ica

l a

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oc

iat

ion




the renovations in the diplomatic Reception Room

(pictured above in 1962) were begun by Mrs. eisenhower

and completed by Mrs. Kennedy, who had the french

scenic wallpaper “Wonders of America” installed. the

room is essentially the same today.

t h e d I p l O M At I c R e c e p t I O N R O O M

wh

ite

ho

uS

e h

iSt

oR

ica

l a

SS

oc

iat

ion

the Yellow Oval Room today,

continuing the decorative theme

established by Mrs. Kennedy in

1961. throughout the history of the

house this room has been the fami-

ly “parlor” or library. It was never

a formal room before the Kennedy

administration, when it gained its

french antiques. the truman

balcony opens from this room

and provides spectacular views

outward.

[photo by peteR vitale FoR the white

houSe hiStoRical aSSociation]

t h e Y e l l O W O vA l R O O M

Since 1962, the White House Historical Association has

maintained a broad-ranging publications program. The

following major publications are listed chronologically.

The White House: An Historic Guide (1962)

original text by Lorraine Pearce, edited variously

over 22 editions, the most recent 2003. The classic

guidebook of the White House, adapted to serve the

various changes in the state rooms and collections,

but essentially the same written by Mrs. Pearce and

approved by Mrs. Kennedy in the first year of

publication. 22nd edition, 2003.

The Presidents of the United States of America (1964)

by Frank Freidel and Hugh Sidey. Thumbnail

biographies with official portraits of the presidents.

16th edition, 2002.

The Living White House (1966)

by Lonnelle Aikman. The personal White House, in

terms of the first families and their lives there, richly

illustrated and normally updated by administration.

11th edition, 2003.

The First Ladies of the United States of America (1975)

by Margaret Brown Klapthor and Allida Black.

Thumbnail biographies with portraits of the first ladies.

10th edition, 2001.

Official White House China (1975)

by Margaret Brown Klapthor. The definitive work by

the best known scholar on the subject. A pioneering

work, Klapthor’s seminal volume brings together years

of research on a subject first addressed a century ago.

2nd edition, 1999.

White House History: Journal of

the White House Historical Association

Published twice a year, containing articles of interest on

the White House and its occupants. The journal first

appeared in 1983 and resumed in regular sequences in

1998. The present issue is number 14.

The President’s House: A History (1986)

2 vols. by William Seale. A narrative history of

the White House from its construction, with emphasis

upon the architecture and manner of living in the

executive residence. Currently being revised and

expanded.

White House Glassware:

Two Centuries of Presidential Entertaining (1989)

by Jane Shadel Spillman. Comprehensive coverage

of the subject, with a cultural history approach. This

volume describes and illustrates historic tableware

rarely seen outside the pantries and dining rooms

of the White House.

Art in the White House: A Nation’s Pride (1992)

by William Kloss. The definitive analysis by leading

art scholars of the fine art collections in the White

House. This has been updated over the years with

supplementary pages, 1992–2002.

The White House: A History of an American Idea (1992)

by William Seale. The story of the architecture of the

White House. 2nd edition, 2001.

Our Changing White House (1992)

Wendell Garrett, editor. Articles written in celebration

Major Publications of the White House

Historical Association, 1962–2003




Major Publications of the White House Historical Association 1962–2003 37

of the 200th anniversary of building the White House.

Published in cooperation with Northeastern

University Press.

The White House: The First 200 Years (1994)

Frank Freidel and William Penack, editors. Selected

papers presented at the 1992 symposium organized by

the White House Historical Association in Washington

and attended by presidential and White House scholars.

Illustrated with historic photographs.

Tokens and Treasures: Gifts to Twelve Presidents

(1996) by Lisa B. Auel. A lively illustrated account of

official and private gifts to the presidents over 70 years

from Hoover to Clinton. Published in cooperation with

the National Archives Trust Fund.

The White House Garden (1996)

by William Seale. A history of the White House

grounds, how they developed and why they were

designed as they were. The book is illustrated with

drawings, botanical prints, historic photography and

elegant modern color photographs by Erik Kvalsvik.

Lincoln at Home: Two Glimpses of

Abraham Lincoln’s Domestic Life (1999)

by David Herbert Donald. This charming small

volume by the distinguished Lincoln scholar brings

the reader close to the private lives and feelings of

the Lincolns during their four-year and six-week

occupancy of the White House.

The White House: Its Historic

Furnishings and First Families (2000)

by Betty C. Monkman. The definitive work on the

furniture and furnishings of the White House, from its

inception to the present. Monkman, brings incompara-

ble expertise to the subject and her classic book is

enriched by Bruce White’s striking color coverage.

The White House: Actors and Observers (2002)

by William Seale, editor. Scholarly articles reflecting

on the first occupation of the White House in 1800,

and the era in which it took place. The articles

were presented originally at the association’s

commemorative symposium in Washington.

The White House: Celebrating Two Hundred Years

(2002). An elegantly presented limited edition that

chronicles in words and pictures the formal celebration

of John Adams’s occupation of the White House in

the fall of 1800.

The White House ABC: A Presidential Alphabet (2004)

by John Hutton. Whimsical drawings that bring the

White House alive in an amusing story line full of facts

and based upon the alphabet.

Childrens’ Books are a special adjunct to the

publications division of the White House Historical

Association and have developed from the

association’s educational program.

A Kid’s Guide to the White House (1997)

by Betty Debnam. A fact-filled book with activities

of all kinds for children ages 8–12.

The White House Coloring Book (1997)

by Mort Kuff, author and illustrator. First families,

first kids, and first pets.

The White House Easter Egg Roll (1997)

by C. L. Arbelbide, with illustrations by Barbara

Leonard Gibson. A childrens’ history of the famous

event that moved from the Capitol to the White

House lawn more than 125 years ago at the behest of

President Rutherford B. Hayes. Ages 6–10.

The White House: An Illustrated History (2003)

by Catherine O’Neill Grace. An overview for young

people of the White House and a behind-the-scenes

glimpse at what it takes to run a 132-room palace that

must be home, office, museum, and ceremonial stage.

Introduction by Laura Bush.




E L I S E K . K I R K

sk anyone to name the American

president most often associated with the arts, and John F.

Kennedy immediately comes to mind. Indeed, John

Fitzgerald Kennedy and Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy

brought to the White House fresh images of youth, vitality,

and é lan that appealed to America’s sense of pride and

self-confidence. In an American renaissance of grace and

beauty, they turned the White House into a kaleidoscopic

showcase for the performing arts—especially for ballet,

chamber music, opera, and music theater. We often think

of the Kennedys as having inaugurated a new appreciation

of imagination and creativity in America. As those who

attend performances at the John F. Kennedy Center for the

Performing Arts know very well, the president’s words on

the faç ade ring true: “I am certain that after the dust of

centuries has passed over our cities, we, too, will be

remembered not for our victories or defeats in battle or in

politics, but for our contribution to the human spirit.”1

For all their accomplishments and prestigious repu-

tation in the arts, however, John and Jacqueline Kennedy

need to be re-examined in a new light.2 So often we are too

myopic in our assessment, failing to see one particular

administration within the long skein of history. To under-

stand the shaping forces of action, thought, and mood,

we need to stand back and ask some questions. What

influences play out their drama in the personal and public

image of a president? How do the Kennedys’ arts interests

compare with those of previous administrations? Were the

Kennedys really the “first” to bring culture to the White

House, as some have claimed? What, in fact, molded their

love of the arts? And indeed, what has conditioned our

admiring attitudes toward them today?

If we go far back into White House history, we will

see that from the earliest times presidents and first ladies

recognized the value of culture, not only in the life of the

nation but also in their own personal lives. Thomas

Jefferson, who played the violin very well, once claimed

that music was an “invaluable respite from the cares of the

day.”3 Without modern theaters, motion pictures, or televi-

sion, presidents and first ladies during the 19th century

brought live music into their home for both personal relax-

ation and social entertainment. The White House musicale

tradition—so prominent with the Kennedys—began as

early as Abraham Lincoln, who invited a young opera

singer, Meda Blanchard, to present a short concert for the

Lincolns and their guests in 1861.

Entertaining styles were simple then, but with

Rutherford and Lucy Hayes, they became more festive.

Between 1877 and 1881 more than 50 different performers

from the concert and opera world entertained the Hayeses.

It was President Chester A. Arthur, however, who was the

first to use the great East Room for White House concerts.

In 1881, he invited 100 guests to dinner and afterward to

hear members of Her Majesty’s Opera Company sing arias

from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Giuseppe Verdi, Richard

Wagner, and Giacomo Meyerbeer. Like the Kennedy era

that witnessed the development of Lincoln Center and

other arts centers across the country, President Arthur

brought great opera to the White House coincident with

the opening of the Metropolitan Opera House in New York

in 1883.

A

A New Look at the

John F. Kennedys and the Arts

Members of the Paul Winter Jazz Sextet during a White

House performance in November 1962. The Kennedys

were the first to hold a jazz concert in the White House.

national archives




40 WHITE HOUSE HISTORY (Number 14)This ebook was originally published as White House History #14, 2004. ISSN: 0748-8114. C Copyright 2004 by the White House Historical Association. All rights reserved.



As the arts continued to blossom during the early

part of the 20th century, the roster of fine performers who

appeared at the White House reads like the seasons at

Carnegie Hall. After Steinway & Sons donated the first

state concert grand piano to the White House during the

administration of Theodore Roosevelt in 1903, great

artists appeared there in droves—Ferruccio Busoni, Sergei

Rachmaninoff, Ignacy Paderewski, Myra Hess, Josef

Hofmann, Madame Ernestine Schumann-Heink, Fritz

Kreisler, and the young Pablo Casals, who would later

make White House history in his performance for the

Kennedys. This was indeed the Golden Age of White

House music—30 years of the world’s finest artists and

programs arranged by Steinway & Sons, usually in con-

sultation with the first lady. When President Kennedy took

office, a long, grand White House tradition was already

well in place.

There is an old saying that history repeats itself.

Historic elements and events often swing like giant pen-

dulums from one era to the next. Changes in the political,

cultural, and social climate play out their roles on the

chameleon-like stage of American life. One of the most

interesting aspects of White House cultural history is the

way the close of one administration appears to prepare for

the next. This connection is especially true in the arts. For

some administrations, these cultural segues predict the

new administration more acutely than they define the old.

Cultural bridges linking administrations are especially

apparent from William McKinley to Theodore Roosevelt,

from Herbert Hoover to Franklin D. Roosevelt, and from

Dwight D. Eisenhower to John F. Kennedy. A brief

overview of these connecting bridges will shed light on

why the Kennedy administration may have moved in the

direction it did.

How and why we tend to focus on one administra-

tion of the connecting bridge over the other often has to

do with the way a particular administration “advertised”

or promoted its intentions to the public. Like the Theodore

Roosevelts, for example, the previous administration—

that of William McKinley—showcased chamber music

and presented musicales with noted concert violinists and

opera singers after large State Dinners. Under the

McKinleys, however, printed musicale programs are rare.

Judging from this alone, one might conclude that the

McKinley White House had little going on musically.

Edith Roosevelt, on the other hand, made certain her

musicales would be remembered. Her large, comprehen-

The 1962 Paul Winter Jazz

Sextet performance in the

East Room of the White

House included several

pieces in the newly

emerging bossa nova

style.

sive collection of elegantly printed programs neatly pasted

in red leather binders (now in the National Archives) is a

tribute to her concern not only for social finesse but also

for accurate preservation of the content and importance of

her many musicales.4 Like Jacqueline Kennedy 50 years

later, Mrs. Roosevelt knew the value of promotion through

the printed word.

Sometimes the characteristic musical style of one

administration carries over into the beginning of the next.

Rather than being only an artistic choice, however, the

musical selections and artists often reflect the changing

political and social tenor of the times. During most of

Herbert Hoover’s administration, world-famous classical

artists performed—celebrities such as Vladimir Horowitz,

Rosa Ponselle, and Mary Garden. But as the Great

Depression intensified, President and Mrs. Hoover felt the

need to reach out to more varied aspects of the American

musical spirit. Their programs began to look like those of

the Franklin Roosevelts, who followed them—that is, they

included folk singers, dulcimer players, an American

Indian singer, and fine African American choirs, such as

those from the Hampton and Tuskegee Institutes.

Perhaps the most interesting of the White House

“cultural bridges” is that from Dwight D. Eisenhower to

John F. Kennedy. The Eisenhowers had the usual round of

large official dinners for the Speaker of the House, the

na

tio

na

l a

rc

hiv

es

A New Look at the John F. Kennedys and the Arts 41This ebook was originally published as White House History #14, 2004. ISSN: 0748-8114. C Copyright 2004 by the White House Historical Association. All rights reserved.






chief justice, the vice president, and the diplomatic corps.

These dinners were usually followed by a short concert

that featured the music the president and first lady espe-

cially enjoyed—that is, Broadway musicals, military

music, and performances by popular stars, such as Guy

Lombardo and Fred Waring. During Eisenhower’s second

administration (1957–61), however, foreign heads of state

and government leaders visited the country more frequent-

ly as air travel increased, and the president began to recog-

nize his responsibility of inviting more world-renowned

artists to perform for them at the White House. When

King Baudouin of Belgium visited on May 11, 1959, the

brilliant young pianist Leon Fleisher entertained in the

East Room. Fleisher was the first American to win the

prestigious Queen’s International Competition. The press

was enchanted. And because music critics were invited to

cover the concert, the Eisenhower image within America’s

burgeoning cultural arena of the 1950s was greatly

enhanced.

Leon Fleisher’s concert was not an isolated cultural

event at the Eisenhower White House, however. Other

great performers during this time included cellist Gregor

Piatigorsky, pianists Artur Rubinstein and Malcolm Frager,

and conductor Leonard Bernstein with 44 members of the

New York Philharmonic.5 But perhaps Eisenhower’s most

significant achievement in the arts was the realization of

the National Cultural Center through the act he signed on

September 2, 1958.6 The giant complex—later to be

renamed the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing

Arts—would provide a national focal point for the finest

artists from every corner of the world. In Eisenhower’s

ideology, “The development of American music, and the

native development of any art, is the development of a

national treasure.”7 There is a prophetic ring to these

words. Soon President John F. Kennedy and his artistic

wife would add their own special flair to the American

cultural scene. The nation was ready.

Bridges, however, can connect, but not construct.

History can tell us only so much; the rest lies in the per-

sonas, politics, and perceptions of the time. There is far

more to the Kennedy arts image than merely what it inher-

ited from the Eisenhowers, or, for that matter, from earlier

White House traditions.The Kennedys put forth an image

of youth, dash, wisdom, and courage. The newspapers of

the time were full of America’s great “cultural explosion,”

and the young president became a sort of mythical symbol

of it. In the words of singer Mahalia Jackson, “I feel I am

part of this man’s hopes. He lifts my spirit and makes me

feel a part of the land I live in.”8 When Kennedy invited

158 scholars, artists, and other creative individuals to his

inauguration in 1961, the entire national artistic communi-

ty sat up and took notice. What would the president do

next, many wondered?

Then, too, John and Jacqueline Kennedy arrived

upon the national scene at a particularly felicitous time in

American cultural history. The United States was experi-

encing a new wave of urban life-style, advances in mass

communications, and an awareness of education that pro-

vided fertile soil for artistic pursuits. Without the

Kennedys to give these pursuits a clearly defined focus,

however, they might have fallen on barren ground and

progressed less vigorously. Leonard Bernstein summarized

Kennedy’s rare attitude toward the arts as stemming from

“the reverence he had for the functions of the human mind

in whatever form, whether as pure thinking or political

thinking or creative functions of any sort, including [those

of] art and literature.”9 August Heckscher, who was

appointed in February 1961 as special consultant to

President Kennedy on the arts—the first White House cul-

tural coordinator—noted that the president “came to feel . .

. that progress in the arts was intimately related to all that

he wanted America to be. . . . In part it was because he was

responding, as any sensitive and enlightened leader must,

to currents that were stirring within the social order.”10

The real spotlight on the American cultural scene,

however, fell upon the White House itself—on the dra-

matic constellation of musical entertainments that now

had a positive mission: “to demonstrate that the White

House could be an influence in encouraging public

acceptance of the arts.”11 It was more than just a question

of bringing the finest quality of artists and programs to

the great mansion, though; fine opera stars, dancers, and

instrumentalists had performed there from the earliest

years. Rather, it was the superb focus that the Kennedys

managed to create. The White House became a deliberate

showcase for America’s leading performing arts organiza-

tions—the Metropolitan Opera Studio, Jerome Robbins

Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Interlochen Arts

Academy, American Shakespeare Festival, New York

City Center Light Opera Company, Opera Society of

Washington, Robert Joffrey Ballet, and many others.

Entire scenes were presented, tastefully staged with cos-

tumes and special lighting. “My main concern,” said

Jacqueline Kennedy, “was to present the best in the arts,

Russian composer Igor

Stravinsky arrives

at the White House with

his wife and is greeted

by President and Mrs.

Kennedy, January 18,

1962.

Grand Duchess Charlotte of

Luxembourg compliments

actor Basil Rathbone and

members of the Consort

Players, who presented an

evening of Elizabethan poetry

and music in the East Room,

April 30, 1963.

ab

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not necessarily what was popular at the time.”12 And

indeed the best it was—all in a tragically short tenure of

two and one-half years.

In addition to bringing major arts organizations

to perform in the White House, the Kennedys had many

other new ideas. Youth concerts were not just presented

for young people but also by them, and they were assem-

bled into an effective series. Programs of chamber music

included longer, more serious works, such as the

complete 45-minute Schubert B-flat Trio performed

as the evening’s only selection by the famous

Stern/Istomin/Rose Trio for French Cultural Minister

André Malraux. Elizabethan music, elegantly underpin-

ning contemporaneous poetry readings, was played on

authentic early instruments—viol, virginal, cittern, and

lute.13 Jazz, a longtime poor sister of the classical arts,

was now listened to attentively for its own artistic merits

rather than used just for dancing. As Heckscher

observed, “In all those areas, it wasn’t a matter of social

entertainment in the White House at all. It became a mat-

ter of recognizing great achievement in the cultural

field.”14 The press capitalized on the “Kennedy

Command Performance,” and an enchanted America

followed every nuance and interpretive detail of the

White House artists that the media offered.

But the most significant innovation of the Kennedys

involved the guest lists. These included not only political

and business leaders but also prominent performers, crit-

ics, composers, producers, and cultural luminaries from all

over the nation. Leonard Bernstein summed up the joyous

reactions of these honored guests. At an Eisenhower din-

ner, Bernstein recalled,

the food was ordinary, the wines were inferior, and you

couldn’t smoke. By the time I got to play I was a wreck.

Compare that with the Casals dinner at the White House. .

. . Dinner turns out to be not at a horseshoe table but

many little tables, seating about ten people apiece, fires

roaring in all the fireplaces, and these tables are laid in

three adjacent rooms so that it’s all like having dinner

with friends. . . . I’ll never forget the end of that evening,

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when there was dancing. The Marine Band was playing

waltzes or something, and [American composers] Roy

Harris and Walter Piston and people like that were kicking

up their heels in the White House, a little high, just so

delighted to be there, so glad that they had been asked,

feeling that they had finally been recognized as honored

artists of the Republic. You know, I’ve never seen so many

happy artists in my life.15

Culture was by no means new to the Kennedys when

they came to the White House; their support of the arts was

a natural extension of their accustomed way of life. A

Harvard graduate, John F. Kennedy won the Pulitzer Prize

in history for his Profiles in Courage, and his professional

dealings with words and images are legend. Music, howev-

er, was another matter, and his tastes ranged from middle-

brow to noncommittal. He studied piano as a child but, as

one report indicated, “Anybody studying this boy’s charac-

ter when he was practicing scales would have said he’d

never grow up to become President of the United States.”16

When Carl Sandburg’s daughter Helga sent a query to the

White House regarding Kennedy’s favorite song, the presi-

dent “wondered if Jackie might have a suggestion” for him.

The reply to Ms. Sandburg was: “Greensleeves, a very old

English song.”17 “It was not only that he didn’t particularly

enjoy it [music], but I think it was really painful,” August

Hecksher noted. “I don’t mean only painful for him to sit

because of his back for any length of time, I think it hurt

his ears. I really don’t think he liked music at all except a

few things that he knew. . . . So it was a shading, really,

from music, which I think he found painful, into poetry,

which for various reasons he found both challenging and

quite fascinating.”18

With Jacqueline Kennedy, the performing arts were

quite a different matter, and there can be no doubt that the

White House programs reflected her cultivated and intu-

itive tastes as well as her direct involvement in their plan-

ning. Mrs. Kennedy was educated at fine private schools.

She wrote poems and stories for which she drew her own

illustrations, and she studied piano and ballet. During her

A New Look at the John F. Kennedys and the Arts 45

Isaac Stern performs

for President and

Mrs. Kennedy and

guests in the East

Room (opposite) and

talks with the Kennedys

(right), May 11, 1962.




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junior year at Vassar she studied in France, and its culture

left a mark upon her throughout her life. One of the

Kennedys’ most impressive parties took place on July 11,

1961, for President Mohammad Ayub Khan of Pakistan.

Featuring a concert by the National Symphony Orchestra,

the event made history. It was the first State Dinner to be

held away from the White House, in this case at historic

Mount Vernon. Might Mrs. Kennedy have been inspired

by her recent visit to France, when President Charles de

Gaulle charmed the president and first lady with a sumptu-

ous dinner and ballet at Versailles? Quite possibly.

For every administration from Theodore Roosevelt

through the Eisenhowers, Steinway & Sons served the

White House as consultants for the musicales. First Henry

Junge, then John Steinway, recommended the artists and

program focus, and their correspondence in the Steinway

Archives with various first ladies reflects a joyous and

dedicated service. But under the Kennedy administration,

things changed. Mrs. Kennedy had her own ideas. One of

her favorite arts advisers was Pierre Salinger, who had

been quite a child prodigy on the violin. According to the

first lady, “his great musical knowledge was enormously

helpful in suggesting artists who might perform at the

White House.”19 But ultimately, as Chief Usher J. B. West

claimed, “Mrs. Kennedy was White House impresario.

She knew all of the arts extremely well. When the ballet

dancers rehearsed at the White House, she seemed to

know even when they took a wrong step. . . . She often

wrote to the artists herself inviting them to perform or

even called them on the telephone. Can you imagine the

performer’s reaction to the first lady saying, ‘Can you

come and play for us at the White House?’”20

But, though he may not have been musically knowl-

edgeable, President Kennedy recognized the important

role that music played in the life of the nation. Music, he

knew, could become a vital bond between cultures. When

he wrote to the world-famous cellist, Pablo Casals, invit-

ing him to perform at a State Dinner honoring Governor

Luis Muñ oz-Marí n of Puerto Rico, Americans quickly

understood how the White House wished to participate in

the life of the nation. Music has the uncanny power to

humanize the presidency, but it also can bind social, artis-

tic, and spiritual ideals into a mesmerizing whole. Casals,

who had played in the White House for Theodore

Roosevelt in 1904, had discontinued his American appear-

ances in 1938 because the United States recognized the

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Pablo Casals made White

House history with his

performance in the East Room

on November 13, 1961. He is

pictured above rehearsing.

Opposite: The Kennedys and

their guests eagerly await the

performance and greet Casals

afterwards.




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Franco dictatorship that he despised. His long, self-

imposed exile from his native Spain led him to establish

residence in Puerto Rico. So when Casals accepted

President Kennedy’s invitation, the event attracted interna-

tional attention. It became the most publicized of all White

House concerts—perhaps of any concert in America—and

it drew press attention from all over the world.

The concert harked back to the great musicale tradi-

tion of William Howard Taft, Calvin Coolidge, and

Herbert Hoover, but with an important distinction: now

it was available for the world to enjoy. It was broadcast

nationally by NBC and ABC radio (though turned down

by CBS because the tape made by the Signal Corps did

not meet the network’s standards). A recording was dis-

tributed commercially by Columbia with four pages of

notes, critiques, and photographs. And in the New York

Herald Tribune the distinguished critic and musicologist

Paul Henry Lang wrote: “It is evident that the present first

family has a proper appreciation of the relation of art to

life.”21 Indeed, past administrations had also understood

the relation of art to life, but under the Kennedys, this

abstract concept became a practical reality.

For the historic East Room concert, Pablo Casals

was joined by pianist Mieczyslaw Horszowski and violin-

ist Alexander Schneider in works by Felix Mendelssohn,

Robert Schumann, and Franç ois Couperin. But it was

Casals’s simple encore that expressed the cellist’s feelings

most eloquently. He closed his program with a piece from

his birthplace, which he claimed depicted the people’s

longing for freedom. “You might know this song,” he said

almost weeping as he grasped the hand of Marine Band

musician, John Bourgeois, after the concert. “It’s a Catalan

folk song, ‘The Song of the Birds’—but for me, it’s the

song of the exile.”22 After returning to Puerto Rico, Casals

wrote to Kennedy:

Last Monday night I played with all my heart—and I feel

that the results have been rewarding. I am grateful and

happy if my humble tribute to you may have at the same

time contributed to music and culture. That whole day of

November 13th will always have a very special meaning

for me. My visit and conversation with you have strength-

ened and confirmed my faith and hopes for our ideals of

Peace and Freedom. Thank you, Mr. President.23

Perhaps one reason we remember the musical inter-

ests of the Kennedys so vividly is that they regularly invit-

ed professional music critics to cover the White House

concerts. These reviews were usually very good. But

sometimes the critics just had to admit that the White

House was not a typical opera house or concert hall. For

the larger productions, the lighting was inadequate, dress-

ing room space makeshift, and the performance area often

too small. When the Opera Society of Washington staged

The Magic Flute, the production had to be brought inside

because of drenching rains. “This was an operation very

much like pouring two quarts of milk into a one-pint bot-

tle,” the music critic of the Washington Evening Star,

Irving Lowens, remarked. “The scenery would not fit. . . .

There was no place for the orchestra.” Conducting in the

grand foyer, Paul Calloway stood, Lowens observed,

“with one foot in the East Room and one foot out.”24 By

the time the Lyndon Johnsons staged their ballets and

musicals, the Harkness Ballet had donated a beautiful,

specially designed, portable stage to the East Room—

complete with built-in lighting and a gold damask curtain.

It was used for at least 20 years, until it succumbed to the

advances of more modern styles and technology.

President and Mrs. Kennedy liked to feature the arts

in a variety of ways. They were the first to hold a jazz

concert in the White House. On November 19, 1962, the

Paul Winter Jazz Sextet appeared on one of the youth con-

cert series. Paul Winter had founded a talented combo of

20-year-olds who had toured Central and South America

under the Cultural Exchange Program shortly before they

played in the White House. Their program for the

Kennedys included several pieces in the newly emerging

bossa nova style, which combined Brazilian and American

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A New Look at the John F. Kennedys and the Arts 49

jazz idioms. How did all of these foot-stomping nuances

impress the audience of diplomatic children? “They

applauded politely but sat placidly through the concert,”

noted the press.25 More pronounced reaction to the innova-

tions of jazz came from the president’s daughter earlier in

the year. In their program for the shah of Iran, the dynamic

Jerome Robbins dancers wore deliberately understated

white sweatshirts, black pants, and sneakers. Six-year-old

Caroline kept asking when they were going to put on their

costumes.

Perhaps one of the most charming images of

President Kennedy is that offered by Leonard Bernstein.

On January 18, 1962, the Kennedys feted 79-year-old

Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. Among the distin-

guished guests were Bernstein and his wife; Princess Lee

Radziwill (Mrs. Kennedy’s sister); Goddard Lieberson,




August Hecksher was appointed

in 1961 as special consultant

to President Kennedy on the arts.

The Kennedy Center at dusk.

In 1964, Congress declared the

proposed Natural Cultural Center

as a “living memorial” to President

Kennedy. Now known as the John

F. Kennedy Center for the Performing

Arts, the center first opened to the

public in 1971.

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president of Columbia Records, and his ballerina wife,

Zorina; and Robert Craft, musical associate of Stravinsky.

“When I came into the room,” recalls Bernstein,

there was a line greeting Stravinsky, and when he came to

me, he kissed me on both cheeks in the Russian fashion,

and I kissed him on both cheeks. There was all this

Russian kissing and embracing going on when I suddenly

heard a voice from the other corner of the room saying,

“Hey, how about me?” And it was the President. That’s

the sort of thing I mean: it’s so endearing and so insanely

unpresidential, and at the same time never losing dignity

or that quality, I can’t think of the word, but stateliness is

the only thing I can think of, majestic presence.26

It was indeed this “majestic presence” that was felt

when John F. Kennedy was mourned everywhere after his

assassination. Washington, London, Tokyo, Paris, Berlin,

Nairobi: for a fleeting moment people throughout the

world joined hands and with bowed heads turned to music

to honor, eulogize, and comfort. There could be no other

way. Musical artists, humble and great, paid tribute in ways

they knew best. A young Bosnian in Sarajevo sang a lyrical

epic to his own accompaniment on the ancient single-

stringed gusle. In New York, Isaac Stern, Eugene Istomin,

and Leonard Rose played on television the expressive slow

movement from Schubert’s B-flat Trio, which they had

performed at the White House for André Malraux.

Symphony orchestras all over the land also paid

their last respects, many with commemorative programs.

One of the most hauntingly moving was the National

Symphony’s postmidnight performance a few blocks from

the White House—to a completely empty Constitution

Hall. “The orchestra of the presidents,” as it had come to

be called, was conducted by Howard Mitchell. The pro-

gram included Debussy’s La mer in memory of the presi-

dent’s love of the ocean and his valor as a naval officer,

and the flowing Adagio for Strings by the American com-

poser Samuel Barber, the last distinguished representative

of the arts to be invited to the White House before the

president’s death. Finally, as a tribute to Mrs. Kennedy, the

Overture to Fidelio was played. For Mitchell, Beethoven’s

glorious work was a fitting tribute to the first lady, whom

he described as a “true heroine, who walked in tragic

beauty during her days of sorrow.”27

Composer Igor Stravinsky, towering giant of the

century, also paid his respects through music. His Elegy

for JFK (1964) is a miniature for baritone (later revised

for mezzo-soprano) and three clarinets. The text by W. H.

Auden consists of four stanzas of free haiku:

When a just man dies

Lamentation and praise,

Sorrow and joy are one.

Why then? Why there?

Why thus, we cry, did he die?

The Heavens are silent.

What he was, he was;

What he is fated to become

Depends on us.

Remembering his death

How we choose to live

Will decide its meaning.28

Most interesting about this little piece is the way

music and message interact. The atonal, transparent tex-

tures seem to feature interplay between the diabolical tri-

tone (G-sharp to D) and the eternally hopeful perfect fifth

(D-sharp to A-sharp)—the “oneness,” perhaps of both

“sorrow and joy.” Thus music, so vital during the

Kennedy White House years, offers humanity a sense of

hope and promise after a very bleak dawn.

All throughout history, we have seen how in various

degrees American presidents and first ladies have been an

integral part of their times. In the arts, in particular, some

have primarily reflected their eras—such as Abraham

Lincoln, Chester Arthur, Herbert Hoover, and Harry

Truman; others have been especially aggressive in explor-

ing new cultural paths—such as Thomas Jefferson,

Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Richard

Nixon. The Kennedys did both. They knew the culture of

their era, and they had the courage to show it in new ways

to the American people.

John F. Kennedy also knew that America would be

remembered less for its economic and military achieve-

ments than for its culture—that compendium of pride,

imagination, and humanity valued by every president from

George Washington to modern times. As John Ruskin

noted: “The acts of a nation may be triumphant by its

good fortune; and its words mighty by the genius of a few

of its children; but its art only by the general gifts and

common sympathies of the race.”29 John and Jacqueline

Kennedy recognized that ultimately, it is the adventure

and mystery of the arts that lie at the core of a nation’s

character. For America, their legacy has been a vital gift

for generations to come.




1. President Kennedy’s remarks on November 29, 1962, at the Washington,

D.C., armory during the benefit for the construction of the National

Cultural Center.

2. For more on the Kennedys as well as on other administrations from

George Washington to George H. W. Bush, see Elise K. Kirk, Music at

the White House: A History of the American Spirit (Champaign:

University of Illinois Press, 1986) and Musical Highlights from the White

House (Malabar, Fla: Krieger Publishing Company, 1992).

3. Thomas Jefferson to Nathaniel Burwell, March 14, 1818, in The Writings

of Thomas Jefferson, ed. Andrew A. Lipscomb and Albert Ellery Bergh

(Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1903–4), 15:135.

4. The binders are in Official White House Social Functions, Office of

Public Buildings and Grounds, Record Group 42, National Archives and

Records Service, Washington, D.C.

5. The Eisenhower programs are in the Mamie Dowd Eisenhower Papers,

Social Records, Dwight D. Eisenhower Library, Abilene, Kans.

6. Public Law 85-874. One of the major theaters in the Kennedy Center is

named after President Eisenhower.

7. Quoted in Kirk, Musical Highlights from the White House, 134.

8. Mahalia Jackson, Movin’ On Up (New York: Hawthorn Books, 1966),

139.

9. Oral history interview with Leonard Bernstein, composer and music

director of the New York Philharmonic, by Nelson Aldrich, New York,

July 21, 1965, 2–4, Papers of John F. Kennedy, Kennedy Library, Boston,

Mass.

10. August Heckscher, “Kennedy: The Man Who Lives On,” typescript

address, Larchmont Temple, November 20, 1964, 6–7, August Heckscher

Papers, Kennedy Library.

11. This concept was formulated by Pierre Salinger, Arthur Schlesinger, and

Jacqueline Kennedy shortly after the inauguration. Arthur and Barbara

Gelb, “Culture Makes a Hit at the White House,” New York Times,

January 28, 1962. Stephen Birmingham notes that Jacqueline Kennedy

was a decided political asset to the president, and he let her do pretty

much what she wanted. See Birmingham, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy

Onassis (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1978), 106.

12. Letter from Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to Elise Kirk, New York City,

February 3, 1984.

13. The program on April 30, 1963, was presented for Grand Duchess

Charlotte of Luxembourg by Basil Rathbone and the Consort Players.

14. Oral history interview with August Heckscher by Wolf von Eckhardt,

New York, December 10, 1965, Kennedy Papers.

15. Bernstein interview, 8–9.

16. New York Times, August 10, 1962.

17. Evelyn Lincoln to Helga Sandburg, May 3, 1962, President’s Official

File, Kennedy Papers.

18. Heckscher interview, 14–15.

19. Onassis to Kirk, February 3, 1984. Mrs. Kennedy also founded the Office

of the Curator of the White House, the Committee for the Preservation of

the White House, and the White House Historical Association in 1961.

20. J. B. West in an interview with Elise Kirk, Washington, D.C., July 22,

1981.

21. Paul Henry Lang, “Escape from Crisis—The Great Cellist Plays at the

White House,” New York Herald Tribune, November 14, 1961.

22. Col. John Bourgeois in an interview with Elise Kirk, Washington, D.C.,

February 12, 1982. Col. Bourgeois became director of the Marine Band

in 1979.

23. Pablo Casals to John F. Kennedy, November 17, 1961, Kennedy Papers.

For more on the Casals event, see Marta Istomin interview with Elise

Kirk, Washington, D.C., July 20, 1982; Pablo Casals, Joys and Sorrows:

Reflections (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1970), 289–94; jacket notes,

“Concert at the White House,” Columbia AKL5726.

24. Irving Lowens, “Move to East Room Solves ‘Magic Flute,’” Washington

Evening Star, June 4, 1963.

25. “6 Jazzmen Play at the White House:Young People’s Program of First

Lady Sets a Precedent,” New York Times, November 20, 1962; press

release, Office of the Assistant Social Secretary for the Press, the White

House, October 31, 1962, Performing Arts Division, Library of Congress,

Washington, D.C.

26. Bernstein interview, 13. See also “Kennedy Entertains Igor Stravinksky

at Dinner,” New York Times, January 19, 1962.

27. “National Symphony Gives Concert for Neighbor,” New York Times,

November 27, 1963.

28. Igor Stravinksy, Elegy for JFK (London, Boosey and Hawkes, 1964).

Auden’s poem is reprinted in Erwin A. Glikes and Paul P. Schwaber, eds.,

Of Poetry and Power, (New York, Basic Books, 1964), 111. The premiere

of Stravinsky’s piece took place in Los Angeles at a concert conducted by

Robert Craft on April 6, 1964.

29. Quoted in Kirk, Music at the White House, 283.

N O T E S

W I L L I A M g . A L L M A n

lthough the legacy of Jacqueline

Kennedy’s interior decoration at the White House is fixed

in Americans’ minds, there seems to be a general impres-

sion that the rooms, both public and private, have not been

changed during the 40 years since her time here. Certainly

much of the private quarters have been adjusted to suit the

individual tastes of eight succeeding first families. Even

the public rooms, with a formal museum character, fos-

tered in accordance with Mrs. Kennedy’s initiative, have

been altered as the collection of fine and decorative arts

has grown and revised historical insights have influenced

decisions on color and design. There is, however, one

“time capsule” room that retains most of its Kennedy

decor. That is the Queens’ Sitting Room, something of an

amalgam of the public and private, located on the northeast

corner of the second floor in the private quarters but part

of one of two formal guest suites, the other the Lincoln

Bedroom.

This relatively small northeast corner room, seem-

ingly little used in the early years of the White House, was

from at least the late 1840s until 1902 part of the presiden-

tial office suite at the east end of the second floor, a room

usually occupied by clerks or secretaries. When the offices

were moved to the newly constructed West Wing in 1902,

this room became a bedroom, reduced in size by the addi-

tion of a bathroom at the south end. After the Truman

renovation of the White House, 1948–52, the room was

refurnished as a sitting and dressing room for the adjoining

large guest room then known as the Rose Bedroom, now

the Queens’ Bedroom.

When Mrs. Kennedy arrived in 1961, only nine

years had passed since the Truman rebuilding and redeco-

rating of the interior of the house. This room, with walls

painted pale blue-green, retained its floral chintz draperies,

the same fabric having been used to cover two easy chairs,

a dressing table in the northeast corner, and a frameless

single bed serving as a daybed along the west wall.

Flanking the bed was a pair of mahogany bowfront chests

of drawers, part of a large purchase of household furniture

adapted from antique styles. One older object joining this

Truman renovation furniture was an oval mahogany cheval

glass, part of a suite acquired in 1909 from the Boston

manufacturer A. H. Davenport to furnish the bedroom of

President and Mrs. William Howard Taft. Like the other

small corner rooms, the layout of furniture was seriously

influenced by the doorway, fireplace, and two large win-

dows that occupy so much of the wall space.

In redecorating what was called variously the

Queens’ Dressing or Queens’ Sitting Room in 1962–63,

Mrs. Kennedy retained much of the layout and some of the

furnishings, but she gave the room a bold look, focused on

a strong blue-and-white Empire-style fabric and black-and-

gold furniture. The influential Paris design firm, Maison

Jansen, whose president, Sté phane Boudin, was Mrs.

Kennedy’s principal adviser for the White House refurbish-

ing, supplied the brilliant blue, almost cameo-like, cotton

fabric printed with white neoclassical motifs—alternating

rows of swan-centered circular medallions and flower

garland devices. After considering it for the draperies and

A

A recent photograph of the Queens’ Sitting Room. A

Chinese tea box lined with White House wallpaper used

by President Madison rests on the tea table that Mrs.

Kennedy left for the room.

White house historical association

A Small Slice of Kennedy Decor:

The Queens’ Sitting Room




54 WHITE HOUSE HISTORY (number 14)This ebook was originally published as White House History #14, 2004. ISSN: 0748-8114. C Copyright 2004 by the White House Historical Association. All rights reserved.



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upholsteries, Mrs. Kennedy selected it to cover the walls

as well.1 Its jewel-like design has remained brilliant. Still

in place within the two window reveals are the Jansen-

designed draperies and lambrequin-edge valance boards,

trimmed in a narrow white fringe made by the American

firm, Scalamandré Silks, of new York. The two Truman

chairs and a 19th-century daybed supplied by Jansen also

retain their 1962 upholstery in this amazingly durable

fabric.2

The low-post daybed, painted black with poly-

chrome floral decoration, was flanked by two small black-

finished Victorian tables acquired for the White House in

the late 19th century, one inlaid with a mother-of-pearl

checkerboard. Acquired in 1962 was a pair of mid-19th

century “fancy chairs,” black with caned backs and seats,

placed at the north end of the room, and a black papier-

mâ ché pedestal table that was placed between the easy

chairs before the east window. An ebonized Eastlake-style

side chair, donated by a White House doorman, was added

in 1963. A European tripod tea table, decorated in imita-

tion of Chinese lacquerware, belonged to Mrs. Kennedy

but was left for the White House on her departure in 1963.

To augment these additions, two pieces of

mahogany furniture found in the room were lacquered in

black with gilt trim. One of the pair of bedside chests,

only 10 years old, was refinished and placed on the south

wall, but even the much older Taft cheval glass was not

immune to such serious decorative change when it was

finished to match and left in place in the northwest corner.

Architectural changes were made only in the south-

east corner where, during the Truman renovation, the fire-

place had been set on the diagonal. A simple rectangular

built-in overmantel mirror, flanking sconces set amid

columns of plaster stars, the surmounting ornamental plas-

ter medallion, and the mantel itself were removed. The

rather undistinguished gray marble mantel was replaced

Opposite: The Rose Bedroom as it

appeared in June 1960, having been

completed in 1952 for President Harry

Truman. The large guest room, now

known as the Queens’ Room, adjoins

the Queens’ Sitting Room.

Above: The Queens’ Sitting Room, July

1963, north view showing Mrs.

Kennedy’s changes. She gave the room

a bold look, focused on a strong blue-

and-white Empire-style fabric and

black-and-gold furniture.

by a more stylish Truman renovation acquisition—a neo-

classical white marble mantel with stop-fluted engaged

columns and a wreath-carved frieze—that had been

removed from the northwest corner room at the opposite

end of the building when it was converted into a private

quarters kitchen in 1961.

The new mantel was surmounted by a tall gilded

looking glass, made c. 1800–20 and donated in 1962, that

features extensive use of é glomisé or reverse-painted

glass, with a gold-on-white garland frieze, but also blue-on-

black panels of vines on the base rail and vertical stiles.

Comple-menting the new fabric, a pair of late 19th-century

porcelain vases, bright blue with white decoration of clas-

sical dancers, was selected from among older White House

furnishings for placement on the turreted corners of the

mantel shelf.

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A Small Slice of Kennedy Decor: The Queens’ Sitting Room 55This ebook was originally published as White House History #14, 2004. ISSN: 0748-8114. C Copyright 2004 by the White House Historical Association. All rights reserved.



56 WHITE HOUSE HISTORY (number 14)This ebook was originally published as White House History #14, 2004. ISSN: 0748-8114. C Copyright 2004 by the White House Historical Association. All rights reserved.



The October 1966

cover of House and

garden. The magazine

featured an article titled

“Upstairs at the White

House,” which noted

that Lady Bird Johnson

used the Queens’ Sitting

Room as her study.

to

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1966 c

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.

The Truman dressing table, moved before the north

window, was dressed with a skirt fashioned from “white

Swiss tambour curtains” trimmed with blue-and-white silk

galloon and overlaid with tasseled cord swags, all provided

by Jansen.3 A modern chinoiserie lacquered easel mirror,

acquired in 1952 seemingly to complement the Truman

chintz, remained on the table. Jansen also supplied a white

wool rug with a sculpted grid pattern. In February 1963,

Chief Usher J. B. West requested from Jansen a blue rug,

possibly to match the walls, because “it would be more

practical,” but the white rug was not replaced.4

Most of these Kennedy decorative elements remain

today, with only a few additions from the 1970s. To com-

plement the black furniture, two pieces of black-and-gold

Chinese furniture were added—a small mirrored dressing

stand, c. 1820–40, in place of mirror, and a pedestal table

with a porcelain plaque top, c. 1810, where the papier-

mâ ché table had been between the tub chairs. Consistent

with the French fabric is a mid-19th-century oval French

Aubusson rug, decorated with scallop fans and garlands in

blue, pink, and cream, which replaced the white Kennedy

rug in 1971.

The additional object in the room today that links the

French and Chinese influences is an octagonal Chinese

lacquered tea box. It is lined with a pink French wallpaper

left over from papering rooms in the White House. Dolley

Madison gave the scraps of paper (the rest of which later

burned in the 1814 fire) to her friend, Mary Latrobe, wife

of the architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe. Mrs. Kennedy

would doubtless be pleased to find this piece of White

House history, acquired for the permanent collection in

1971, on the center table that she donated for use in the

room.The draperies designed

by Maison Jansen and made

by Scalamandré Silks for

Mrs. Kennedy remain in place

today in the Queens’ Sitting

Room. This sketch shows the

shaped valance boards and

the narrow white fringe trim.

n O T E S

1. Jacqueline Kennedy to William Vose Elder III, curator, private

collection, cited in James A. Abbott and Elaine M. Rice,

Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration (new

York: Van nostrand Reinhold, 1997) 180 n. 7.

2. no order or voucher for this fabric is known. It is mentioned as

“154 yards of blue and white cotton print” on a list of “Materials

needed From Jansen,” november 29, 1963, Paul Manno Papers,

Office of the Curator, The White House.

3. Jansen order of December 28, 1962, confirmation of March 8,

1963, Manno Papers.

4. Jansen voucher, January 31, 1963, Chief Usher Papers, The

White House; J. B. West to Paul Manno, Jansen, new York,

February 26, 1963, Manno Papers.

A Small Slice of Kennedy Decor: The Queens’ Sitting Room 57

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About the Authors

ELISE K. KIRK, PHD, is an award-winning

author, lecturer and musicologist, whose books

include Music at the White House: A History

of the American Spirit, Musical Highlights

from the White House, and American Opera.

Dr. Kirk is a member of the board of directors

of the White House Historical Association.

WILLIAM g. ALLMAn is curator of the

White House. He lectures and writes on the

White House and its collections. He con-

tributed to the revised edition of Official

White House China, and compiled the catalog

of objects for The White House: Its Historic

Furnishings and First Families.

ELAInE RICE BACHMAnn is the co-author,

with James A. Abbott, of Designing Camelot:

The Kennedy White House Restoration (John

Wiley and Sons, 1997). A graduate of the

Winterthur Program in Early American

Culture, she has authored numerous articles on

antiques and interiors. She is currently the

curator of the Maryland Commission on

Artistic Property at the State Archives in

Annapolis.

white house history #14

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