• Christmas Decorations in the State Dining Room, Kennedy Administration
    Robert L. Knudsen
    winter holidays
    tables
    restoration
    mirrors
    furniture
    furnishings
    flowers
    decorations
    State Floor
    State Dining Room
    Christmas
    refurbishment
    This photograph of Christmas decoration in the State Dining Room was taken by Robert L. Knudsen on December 13, 1961, during the John F. Kennedy administration. The image also shows the newly painted and gilded mahogany sideboard and console tables with eagle supports, made by A. H. Davenport & Company during the 1902 White House renovation. They were refinished in keeping with French interior designer Stéphane Boudin’s vision for the State Dining Room.
  • Decorated Entrance Hall and Grand Staircase, Nixon Administration
    Unknown
    Grand Staircase
    Entrance Hall
    holidays
    Christmas
    State Floor
    This photograph of the Entrance Hall and Grand Staircase decorated for the holiday season was taken on December 14, 1970, during the Richard M. Nixon administration. For her second Christmas as first lady, Pat Nixon adorned the Executive Mansion once again with wreaths, garlands, and red bows. Other returning decorations included 12 roughly eight-foot-tall pedestal scones topped with red candles, and velvet-and-satin state flower ornaments on the official White House Christmas Tree. Eastman Johnson's official 1891 portrait of President Grover Cleveland can be seen hanging under a wreath on the right side of this photograph.