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Fine Art

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Art in the White House

The collection of fine art at the White House has evolved and grown over time. The collection began with mostly presidential portraits, commissioned or purchased by Congress, or donated by presidential descendants. In the era before photography, some presidents invited painters to set up studios in the White House to record significant events and paint their likeness. In the late

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

Although the legacy of Jacqueline Kennedy’s interior decoration at the White House is fixed in Americans’ minds, there seems to be a general impression 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 the succeeding firs

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Decorating the White House

Congress has always been tasked with appropriating funds for the care, repair, refurnishing and maintenance of the White House and its grounds. Each incoming president has found furnishings that were worn out and in need of replacement due to everyday wear and tear. Congress approved funds enabling a new president to carry out structural improvements and purchase new furnishings from

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Official White House China: From the 18th to the 21st Centuries

The house in which the President of the United States lives has always had a great fascination for American citizens who have come to feel they share in the ownership of the Executive Mansion. Throughout its more than 200 year history, the style in which the house is furnished has been determined—to varying degrees—by the money appropriated by Congress from

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The White House Collection: George Washington

“It is of very great importance to fix the taste of our Country properly, and I think your Example will go so far in that respect. It is therefore my Wish that every Thing about you should be substantially good and majestically plain; made to endure” wrote Gouverneur Morris, the American businessman and diplomat in Paris, to President George Washington in 1