• Chef Morrison with the 2023 White House Gingerbread House
    David Wiegold
    staff
    Christmas
    State Dining Room
    State Floor
    decorations
    food & drink
    gingerbread
    winter holidays
    Residence staff
    This photograph of White House Executive Pastry Chef Susan "Susie" E. Morrison with the White House Gingerbread House was taken by David Wiegold on November 27, 2023 during a press preview of the White House holiday decorations. President Joseph R. Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden selected "Magic, Wonder, and Joy" as the 2023 holiday theme. The decor was inspired by children and how they embrace and revel in the holiday season. The 2023 White House Gingerbread House, on display in the State Dining Room, commemorated the 200th anniversary of the publication of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. The display featured a sugar cookie replica of the book and Santa’s sleigh soaring over the White House grounds.
  • Chef Morrison with the 2023 White House Gingerbread House
    David Wiegold
    staff
    Christmas
    State Dining Room
    State Floor
    decorations
    food & drink
    gingerbread
    winter holidays
    Residence staff
    This photograph of White House Executive Pastry Chef Susan "Susie" E. Morrison with the White House Gingerbread House was taken by David Wiegold on November 27, 2023 during a press preview of the White House holiday decorations. President Joseph R. Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden selected "Magic, Wonder, and Joy" as the 2023 holiday theme. The decor was inspired by children and how they embrace and revel in the holiday season. The 2023 White House Gingerbread House, on display in the State Dining Room, commemorated the 200th anniversary of the publication of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. The display featured a sugar cookie replica of the book and Santa’s sleigh soaring over the White House grounds.
  • Chef Morrison with the 2023 White House Gingerbread House
    David Wiegold
    staff
    Christmas
    State Dining Room
    State Floor
    decorations
    food & drink
    gingerbread
    winter holidays
    Residence staff
    This photograph of White House Executive Pastry Chef Susan "Susie" E. Morrison with the White House Gingerbread House was taken by David Wiegold on November 27, 2023 during a press preview of the White House holiday decorations. President Joseph R. Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden selected "Magic, Wonder, and Joy" as the 2023 holiday theme. The decor was inspired by children and how they embrace and revel in the holiday season. The 2023 White House Gingerbread House, on display in the State Dining Room, commemorated the 200th anniversary of the publication of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. The display featured a sugar cookie replica of the book and Santa’s sleigh soaring over the White House grounds.
  • Chef Morrison with the 2023 White House Gingerbread House
    David Wiegold
    staff
    Christmas
    State Dining Room
    State Floor
    decorations
    food & drink
    gingerbread
    winter holidays
    Residence staff
    This photograph of White House Executive Pastry Chef Susan "Susie" E. Morrison with the White House Gingerbread House was taken by David Wiegold on November 27, 2023 during a press preview of the White House holiday decorations. President Joseph R. Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden selected "Magic, Wonder, and Joy" as the 2023 holiday theme. The decor was inspired by children and how they embrace and revel in the holiday season. The 2023 White House Gingerbread House, on display in the State Dining Room, commemorated the 200th anniversary of the publication of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. The display featured a sugar cookie replica of the book and Santa’s sleigh soaring over the White House grounds.
  • Chef Morrison with the 2023 White House Gingerbread House
    David Wiegold
    staff
    Christmas
    State Dining Room
    State Floor
    decorations
    food & drink
    gingerbread
    winter holidays
    Residence staff
    This photograph of White House Executive Pastry Chef Susan "Susie" E. Morrison with the White House Gingerbread House was taken by David Wiegold on November 27, 2023 during a press preview of the White House holiday decorations. President Joseph R. Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden selected "Magic, Wonder, and Joy" as the 2023 holiday theme. The decor was inspired by children and how they embrace and revel in the holiday season. The 2023 White House Gingerbread House, on display in the State Dining Room, commemorated the 200th anniversary of the publication of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. The display featured a sugar cookie replica of the book and Santa’s sleigh soaring over the White House grounds.
  • Chef Morrison with the 2023 White House Gingerbread House
    David Wiegold
    staff
    Christmas
    State Dining Room
    State Floor
    decorations
    food & drink
    gingerbread
    winter holidays
    Residence staff
    This photograph of White House Executive Pastry Chef Susan "Susie" E. Morrison with the White House Gingerbread House was taken by David Wiegold on November 27, 2023 during a press preview of the White House holiday decorations. President Joseph R. Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden selected "Magic, Wonder, and Joy" as the 2023 holiday theme. The decor was inspired by children and how they embrace and revel in the holiday season. The 2023 White House Gingerbread House, on display in the State Dining Room, commemorated the 200th anniversary of the publication of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. The display featured a sugar cookie replica of the book and Santa’s sleigh soaring over the White House grounds.
  • Chef Morrison with the 2023 White House Gingerbread House
    David Wiegold
    staff
    Christmas
    State Dining Room
    State Floor
    decorations
    food & drink
    gingerbread
    winter holidays
    Residence staff
    This photograph of White House Executive Pastry Chef Susan "Susie" E. Morrison with the White House Gingerbread House was taken by David Wiegold on November 27, 2023 during a press preview of the White House holiday decorations. President Joseph R. Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden selected "Magic, Wonder, and Joy" as the 2023 holiday theme. The decor was inspired by children and how they embrace and revel in the holiday season. The 2023 White House Gingerbread House, on display in the State Dining Room, commemorated the 200th anniversary of the publication of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. The display featured a sugar cookie replica of the book and Santa’s sleigh soaring over the White House grounds.
  • East Landing, Biden Administration
    David Wiegold
    East Landing
    East Wing
    This photograph of the East Landing was taken by David Wiegold on November 27, 2023 during a press preview of the White House holiday decorations. The East Landing is located in the East Wing of the White House and is among the first sights visitors encounter on a public tour of the White House. The surrounding windows provide views into the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, also known as the East Garden, and lead to the East Colonnade.
  • Bergère (Enclosed Armchair), White House Collection
    Pierre-Antoine Bellange
    seats
    furniture
    State Floor
    Blue Room
    furnishings
    This bergère by Pierre-Antoine Bellangé of Paris is part of a 53-piece gilded beechwood suite ordered for the Oval Room (later called the Blue Room) by President James Monroe in 1817. A bergère is an armchair with upholstered and enclosed sides. The bergère is one of two made for the president and first lady. The bergère was photographed by Bruce White in the Blue Room of the White House.
  • Lincoln Bedroom, Biden Administration
    Bruce White
    Lincoln Bedroom
    Second Floor
    This photograph of the Lincoln Bedroom, located on the Second Floor of the White House, was taken by Bruce White on October 30, 2021 during the Joseph R. Biden administration. Previously used as an office and Cabinet Room, the room became a bedroom in the family quarters during the 1902 Roosevelt renovation. Furnished during the administration of President Harry S. Truman, the room features furniture, artwork, and refurbishing reminiscent of the 1860s. In 2005, the room underwent refurbishing under the direction of First Lady Laura Bush enhancing the historical accuracy of the Lincoln Bedroom. Featured objects in this view include a handwritten and signed copy of the Gettysburg Address by Abraham Lincoln, and an engraving of Francis B. Carpenter’s 1864 painting, First Reading of the Emancipation Proclamation.
  • Armchair, White House Collection
    A. H. Davenport
    seats
    furniture
    furnishings
    This scrolled-back armchair was created by A. H. Davenport in 1902 during the Theodore Roosevelt administration. The armchair is one of six chairs ordered for the Green Room of the White House. The seats and backs were upholstered in tapestry fabric, making them the most expensive type of armchairs in the Green Room. The chairs were originally painted white but were later gilded in the 1930s.
  • Tall Case Clock, White House Collection
    E. Howard Watch and Clock Company
    furnishings
    furniture
    clocks
    This tall case clock by E. Howard Watch and Clock Company of Boston, Massachusetts was purchased for the White House in 1882 during the Chester A. Arthur administration. The clock was originally placed in the Cross Hall on the State Floor of the White House, where it remained until the 1930s when it was moved around to a number of rooms on the Ground Floor until 2003. President Arthur added a number of furnishings to the White House during his time office, though this clock was one of the few items to survive the 1902 White House renovation.
  • Monroe Plateau in the State Dining Room
    Denière et Matelin
    State Dining Room
    State Floor
    furniture
    furnishings
    centerpieces
    This gilded bronze and mirrored plateau or centerpiece was made by the Parisian firm Denière et Matelin circa 1817, during James Monroe's presidency. Elements of the plateau may have been based on designs by the famed French architects Charles Percier and Pierre Fontaine, who completed many commissions for Napoleon. Visitors marveled over the elegant piece, shown here in the White House State Dining Room.
  • Chief Usher at the 2022 Official White House Christmas Tree
    Matthew D'Agostino
    winter holidays
    staff
    Christmas Tree arrival
    Christmas
    Blue Room Christmas Tree
    Residence staff
    This photograph of White House Chief Usher Robert B. Downing at the arrival of the 2022 Official White House Christmas tree was taken by Matthew D'Agostino on November 21, 2022 on the North Drive of the White House. First Lady Dr. Jill Biden welcomed the 18.5-foot Concolor Fir from Auburn, Pennsylvania alongside her grandson, Beau Biden, Jr. The tree was presented by Paul and Pam Shealer, the 2022 National Christmas Tree Association's (NCTA) champion growers, and cultivated at the Shealers' Evergreen Acres Tree Farm in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. The tree was delivered by horse-drawn carriage and carefully escorted to the Blue Room, where it remained on display for the holiday season. Since 1966, the Christmas tree displayed in the Blue Room has been presented to the White House following a contest run by the National Christmas Tree Association.
  • Oval Office, Biden Administration
    Bruce White
    West Wing
    Oval Office
    This photograph of the Oval Office during the Joseph R. Biden administration was taken on June 9, 2021 by Bruce White. Before 1909, the president's office was located in the Executive Mansion. During the William H. Taft administration, the West Wing doubled in size from the 1902 renovation and included a presidential oval office. In 1934, during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration, the West Wing was expanded and renovated, with the Oval Office relocated to the West Wing’s southeast corner.
  • West Garden Room, Trump Administration
    Bruce White
    West Garden Room
    West Wing
    The photograph of the West Garden Room was taken by Bruce White on May 24, 2017. The space connects the Executive Residence to the West Colonnade and the Rose Garden. It is filled with greenery and seasonal plants, and the allegorical work "Union" by Italian-born artist Constantino Brumidi hangs on the wall. Brumidi completed "Union" and its companion piece "Liberty" in 1869. President Ulysses S. Grant commissioned the works for display in the renovated Entrance Hall of the White House. Representing the indivisibility of the restored Union after the Civil War, both were mounted on the ceiling after completion. The pieces were removed during the Benjamin Harrison administration and returned to the White House following their rediscovery in 1978.
  • West Wing Reception Room, Biden Administration
    Bruce White
    West Wing
    West Wing Reception Room
    This photograph of the West Wing Reception Room by Bruce White was taken on June 9, 2021 during the Joseph R. Biden administration. The Reception Room is located in the West Wing and serves as a waiting room for visitors to the West Wing Offices. The room is furnished with modern Chippendale-style reproductions, an 18th-century English bookcase containing the published volumes of the Public Papers of the Presidents, and American paintings on the walls.
  • Presidential Seal, Oval Office Ceiling
    Bruce White
    Presidential Seal
    West Wing
    Oval Office
    This is a plaster relief of the Presidential Seal on the ceiling of the Oval Office in the West Wing. The seal was photographed by Bruce White on June 9, 2021 during the Joseph R. Biden administration.
  • Oval Office, Biden Administration
    Bruce White
    West Wing
    Oval Office
    This photograph of the Oval Office during the Joseph R. Biden administration was taken on June 9, 2021 by Bruce White. Before 1909, the president's office was located in the Executive Mansion. During the William H. Taft administration, the West Wing doubled in size from the 1902 renovation and included a presidential oval office. In 1934, during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration, the West Wing was expanded and renovated, with the Oval Office relocated to the West Wing’s southeast corner.
  • The Queens' Bedroom, Biden Administration
    Bruce White
    Queens' Bedroom
    Second Floor
    This photograph of the Queens's Bedroom was taken by Bruce White on October 10, 2021 during the Joseph R. Biden administration. The room was refurbished during the Donald Trump administration with new fabrics and a floral-bordered carpet. The Queens' Bedroom is named for the royal guests that have stayed there, including five queens: Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain, Queen Wilhelmina and Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, and Queen Frederika of Greece. The bed in the center of the room may have been purchased during the Andrew Jackson administration.
  • Center Hall, Biden Administration
    Bruce White
    Second Floor
    Center Hall
    This photograph of the Center Hall was taken by Bruce White on October 30, 2021 during the Joseph R. Biden administration. The Center Hall traverses the length of the Second Floor from the east to the west ends of the Executive Mansion, much like the Cross Hall and the Ground Floor Corridor below. Here, the Center Hall is captured looking east toward the East Sitting Hall. The Center Hall serves as the lifeline of the first family’s residence, leading off into the Lincoln Bedroom, the Yellow Oval Room, and the Treaty Room, among others. It also serves as a drawing room for the first family and presidential guests who are received in the Yellow Oval Room. The furnishings invite those who would pass through to stop and sit, at least to view the artworks that the first family has chosen for display.
  • Roosevelt Room, Biden Administration
    Bruce White
    West Wing
    Roosevelt Room
    This photograph of the Roosevelt Room was taken by Bruce White on June 9, 2021 during the Joseph R. Biden administration. President Richard M. Nixon named the room in 1969 after Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt for their contributions to the construction of the West Wing. Artwork and mementos of both presidents are often on display in the room to honor the two men. The Roosevelt Room is a conference room located across the hall from the Oval Office and acts as an all-purpose room for meetings, receptions, and announcements by the presidents and their staff.
  • Chef Morrison with the 2021 White House Gingerbread House
    David Wiegold
    winter holidays
    decorations
    State Floor
    State Dining Room
    staff
    Residence staff
    This photograph of White House Executive Pastry Chef Susan "Susie" E. Morrison posing by the White House Gingerbread House in the State Dining Room Room was taken by David Wiegold on November 29, 2021 during a press preview of the White House holiday decorations. Constructed by the White House pastry team from baked gingerbread, pastillage, chocolate, and royal icing, the display featured eight community buildings representing the essential workplaces of frontline employees. For their first year in the White House, President Joseph R. Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden chose the theme, "Gifts from the Heart." The theme was meant to honor the things we cherish and bring us together despite the obstacles posed by a pandemic, time, and distance.
  • Blue Room Prepared for a Holiday Breakfast Reception
    Joseph J. Scherschel
    winter holidays
    staff
    meals
    food & drink
    State Floor
    Residence staff
    Blue Room
    decorations
    In this photograph, taken by National Geographic photographer Joseph J. Scherschel in December 1969, an unidentified butler prepares a breakfast buffet of pastries, coffee, and orange juice in the Blue Room. It is possible the buffet was served during a White House holiday reception during the Richard M. Nixon administration; the Blue Room is festively decorated with red candles, garlands, and ornaments for the season.
  • China Room, John F. Kennedy Administration
    Unknown
    China Room
    Ground Floor
    This photograph is of the China Room as appeared before First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy's refurbishment of the rooms in the White House. The China Room is located on the Ground Floor of the White House and has been used to display ceramics, glass, and other decorative arts since 1917. The pieces on display are a collection of items used in the White House by first families, including state china services commissioned during a presidency. Howard Chandler Christy's portrait of First Lady Grace Goodhue Coolidge was hung in the room in 1952. The image was taken on August 14, 1961 by a National Geographic staff photographer for the White Historical Association's 1962 publication of "The White House: A Historic Guide". The publication serves as a companion book for tours of the White House, providing history of the rooms, architecture, and furniture.