Interiors & Decorative Arts

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Decorative Arts in the White House

Many people approach the decor of their homes as a reflection of oneself. But what happens when a home's interior must be a reflection of a country's history? While the president and first lady make decisions regarding the White House interiors while they live there, they also recognize the importance of maintaining and preserving the public spaces and their accompanying

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John Tyler Portrait by James Reid Lambdin

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Nell Arthur's Memorial Window

Stained glass, a medieval art, was revisited in the historically retrospective nineteenth century. The art was a prominent feature of two significant renovation projects in Washington, D.C., during the presidency of Chester Alan Arthur (1881–85). Saint John’s Church in Lafayette Square engaged Lorin, a studio based in Chartres, France, to create stained glass windows for its new pictorial glazing prog

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Uriah Levy's Gift to the Nation

For nearly twenty seven years, a full-length bronze sculpture of Thomas Jefferson was displayed at the center of the North Lawn in front of the White House. It was a feature that dominated the view from Pennsylvania Avenue and appeared prominently in engravings, paintings, and photographs of the period. The work of well-regarded French sculptor, Pierre-Jean David d’Angers (1788–1856), the stat

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The President and Washington During the War with Mexico

James Knox Polk was at home in Columbia, Tennessee, when he judged that it was about time to find out the results of the election. A dispatch from Washington was waiting for him at the post office. And the news of his presidential victory marked not only a change in his life, but marked, in retrospect, the start of the

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