• The Inauguration of President George Washington
    Currier & Ives
    print
    inagurations
    This hand-colored lithograph by Currier & Ives was published in 1876 and depicts the Inauguration of President George Washington. Eleven men are depicted witnessing Washington taking the Oath of Office. He places his right hand on an open bible and holds a sword with his left hand. Figures noted in the key below the image include Alexander Hamilton, Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, Roger Sherman, Mr. Otis, John Adams, Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Steuben, and General Henry Knox. Washington served as the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He served as president from April 30, 1789 until March 4, 1797.
  • The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, October 19, 1781
    John Trumbull
    paintings
    Revolutionary War
    This painting by John Trumbull depicts the surrender of General Cornwallis at Yorktown, marking the end of the Revolutionary War. The defeated British army marches between the Americans on the right, led by General George Washington, and the French on the left, led by General Jean-Baptiste Rochambeau. At the center, on horseback, Major General Benjamin Lincoln, Washington’s second-in-command, accepts the official surrender from General Lord Cornwallis’s deputy, General Charles O’Hara. According to historical accounts, Cornwallis had feigned illness on the occasion and passed the responsibility of surrender to O’Hara. Washington, recognizing the snub, directed O’Hara to Major General Lincoln, who accepted O’Hara’s sword and handed it back to him. Trumbull painted the portraits of the French officers directly onto the canvas in Thomas Jefferson’s house in Paris and regarded them as the "best of my small portraits."
  • Close Up, East Room Crèche
    Otis Imboden
    holidays
    State Floor
    East Room
    Christmas
    creche
    This photograph, taken in December 1971, shows the 18th century crèche (or nativity scene) on display in the East Room during the Richard M. Nixon administration. The crèche was donated to the White House Collection by Mrs. Charles W. Engelhard, Jr. of Far Hills, New Jersey in 1967. The donation included 39 hand-painted figurines. The 14 foot tall crèche setting display was built by Tony Award-winning stage designer Donald Oenslager, with mechanisms for annual disassembly.
  • Close Up, East Room Crèche
    Otis Imboden
    holidays
    State Floor
    East Room
    Christmas
    creche
    This photograph, taken in December 1971, shows the 18th century crèche (or nativity scene) on display in the East Room during the Richard M. Nixon administration. The crèche was donated to the White House Collection by Mrs. Charles W. Engelhard, Jr. of Far Hills, New Jersey in 1967. The donation included 39 hand-painted figurines. The 14 foot tall crèche setting display was built by Tony Award-winning stage designer Donald Oenslager, with mechanisms for annual disassembly.
  • Crèche on Display in the East Room
    Otis Imboden
    holidays
    State Floor
    East Room
    Christmas
    creche
    This photograph, taken in December 1971, shows the 18th century crèche (or nativity scene) on display in the East Room during the Richard M. Nixon administration. The crèche was donated to the White House Collection by Mrs. Charles W. Engelhard, Jr. of Far Hills, New Jersey in 1967. The donation included 39 hand-painted figurines. The 14 foot tall crèche setting display was built by Tony Award-winning stage designer Donald Oenslager, with mechanisms for annual disassembly.
  • Crèche on Display in the East Room
    Otis Imboden
    holidays
    State Floor
    East Room
    Christmas
    creche
    This photograph, taken in December 1971, shows the 18th century crèche (or nativity scene) on display in the East Room during the Richard M. Nixon administration. The crèche was donated to the White House Collection by Mrs. Charles W. Engelhard, Jr. of Far Hills, New Jersey in 1967. The donation included 39 hand-painted figurines. The 14 foot tall crèche setting display was built by Tony Award-winning stage designer Donald Oenslager, with mechanisms for annual disassembly.
  • Crèche on Display in the East Room
    Otis Imboden
    holidays
    State Floor
    East Room
    Christmas
    creche
    This photograph, taken in December 1971, shows the 18th century crèche (or nativity scene) on display in the East Room during the Richard M. Nixon administration. The crèche was donated to the White House Collection by Mrs. Charles W. Engelhard, Jr. of Far Hills, New Jersey in 1967. The donation included 39 hand-painted figurines. The 14 foot tall crèche setting display was built by Tony Award-winning stage designer Donald Oenslager, with mechanisms for annual disassembly.