• 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.
  • 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.
  • Installation of a New Marble Mantel in the State Dining Room
    Robert L. Knudsen
    restoration
    mantels
    construction & maintenance
    State Floor
    State Dining Room
    refurbishment
    This photo of the installation of a new marble mantel in the State Dining Room was taken by Robert L. Knudsen on June 25, 1962, during the John F. Kennedy administration. The mantel was a joint gift of the architecture firm Steinmann, Cain and White, and the Marble Industry Board of New York. The new mantel was installed as part of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy's restoration program.
  • Convex Girandole Mirror, Green Room
    Unknown
    State Floor
    Green Room
    mirror
    sconce
    This convex girandole mirror with wall sconces was made circa 1820 in New York. The wooden frame features carvings of a large American eagle at the top and a smaller British lion at the base. The wood has been gilded with two candle sconces on either end of the base. The creator is unknown. The girandole is captured in the Green Room in a photograph taken in January 1972 by Nelson Brown, Victor Boswell, and Robert S. Oakes during the administration of Richard M. Nixon. It was added to the White House Collection in 1971.
  • Convex Girandole Mirror, Green Room
    Unknown
    State Floor
    Green Room
    mirror
    sconce
    This convex girandole mirror with wall sconces was made circa 1820 in New York. The wooden frame features carvings of a large American eagle at the top and a smaller British lion at the base. The wood has been gilded with two candle sconces on either end of the base. The creator is unknown. The girandole is captured in the Green Room in a photograph taken in January 1972 by Nelson Brown, Victor Boswell, and Robert S. Oakes during the administration of Richard M. Nixon. It was added to the White House Collection in 1971.
  • Convex Girandole Mirror, Green Room
    Unknown
    State Floor
    Green Room
    mirror
    sconce
    This convex girandole mirror with wall sconces was made circa 1820 in New York. The wooden frame features carvings of a large American eagle at the top and a smaller British lion at the base. The wood has been gilded with two candle sconces on either end of the base. The creator is unknown. The girandole is captured in the Green Room in a photograph taken in January 1972 by Nelson Brown, Victor Boswell, and Robert S. Oakes during the administration of Richard M. Nixon. It was added to the White House Collection in 1971.
  • Convex Girandole Mirror, Green Room
    Unknown
    State Floor
    Green Room
    mirror
    sconce
    This convex girandole mirror with wall sconces was made circa 1820 in New York. The wooden frame features carvings of a large American eagle at the top and a smaller British lion at the base. The wood has been gilded with two candle sconces on either end of the base. The creator is unknown. The girandole is captured in the Green Room in a photograph taken in January 1972 by Nelson Brown, Victor Boswell, and Robert S. Oakes during the administration of Richard M. Nixon. It was added to the White House Collection in 1971.
  • Convex Girandole Mirror, Green Room
    Unknown
    State Floor
    Green Room
    mirror
    sconce
    This convex girandole mirror with wall sconces was made circa 1820 in New York. The wooden frame features carvings of a large American eagle at the top and a smaller British lion at the base. The wood has been gilded with two candle sconces on either end of the base. The creator is unknown. The girandole is captured in the Green Room in a photograph taken in January 1972 by Nelson Brown, Victor Boswell, and Robert S. Oakes during the administration of Richard M. Nixon. It was added to the White House Collection in 1971.
  • Convex Girandole Mirror, Green Room
    Unknown
    State Floor
    Green Room
    mirror
    sconce
    This convex girandole mirror with wall sconces was made circa 1820 in New York. The wooden frame features carvings of a large American eagle at the top and a smaller British lion at the base. The wood has been gilded with two candle sconces on either end of the base. The creator is unknown. The girandole is captured in the Green Room in a photograph taken in January 1972 by Nelson Brown, Victor Boswell, and Robert S. Oakes during the administration of Richard M. Nixon. It was added to the White House Collection in 1971.
  • Federal Period Mirror, White House Collection
    Unknown
    mirror
    Family Dining Room
    State Floor
    This 19th century mirror was donated to the White House Collection in 1962 during the John F. Kennedy administration. The convex gilt mirror was made in the Federal style and features a carved bald eagle above the mirror glass. The piece was likely made in New York. Joseph J. Scherschel photographed the mirror in August 1965 in the Family Dining Room, seen reflected in the mirror. At the time, the mirror hung above the room's green and white marble mantelpiece.
  • Federal Period Mirror, White House Collection
    Unknown
    mirror
    Family Dining Room
    State Floor
    This 19th century mirror was donated to the White House Collection in 1962 during the John F. Kennedy administration. The convex gilt mirror was made in the Federal style and features a carved bald eagle above the mirror glass. The piece was likely made in New York. Joseph J. Scherschel photographed the mirror in August 1965 in the Family Dining Room, seen reflected in the mirror. At the time, the mirror hung above the room's green and white marble mantelpiece.
  • Convex Mirror, Red Room
    Unknown
    Red Room
    mirror
    State Floor
    This convex mirror, made in the early 19th century, remains a part of the White House furnishings. In this photograph, the mirror is hanging in the Red Room and reflects the furnishings and fireplace in the ornate room during the John F. Kennedy administration.
  • Mirror, Red Room
    Unknown
    State Floor
    Red Room
    mirror
    This photograph of a circular mirror with a decorative eagle in the Red Room was shot in such a way that a reflection of the room's furnishings are displayed. The photograph was taken by George Mobley of the National Geographic Service.
  • Blue Room, Barack Obama Administration
    Matthew D'Agostino
    State Visit
    State Floor
    Blue Room
    clocks
    This detailed photograph of a gilded bronze mantel clock was taken by Matthew D'Agostino on February 10, 2014 during the Barack Obama administration. The case of this clock was made by Denière et Matelin of Paris with Hannibal, the Carthaginian military commander and a famed war strategist of the ancient world, standing beside the clock housing. This photograph was taken during a press preview held that day to showcase the decor and menu ahead of a State Dinner hosted by President Obama for President François Hollande of the French Republic, including a look at the French influences in the White House rooms and fine and decorative arts in the White House Collection, including this piece.
  • Blue Room, Barack Obama Administration
    Matthew D'Agostino
    State Visit
    State Floor
    Blue Room
    clocks
    This detailed photograph of a gilded bronze mantel clock was taken by Matthew D'Agostino on February 10, 2014 during the Barack Obama administration. The case of this clock was made by Denière et Matelin of Paris with Hannibal, the Carthaginian military commander and a famed war strategist of the ancient world, standing beside the clock housing. This photograph was taken during a press preview held that day to showcase the decor and menu ahead of a State Dinner hosted by President Obama for President François Hollande of the French Republic, including a look at the French influences in the White House rooms and fine and decorative arts in the White House Collection, including this piece.
  • Convex Mirror Reflects the Red Room
    Unknown
    State Floor
    Red Room
    mirror
    This mirror, a convex type made in the early 19th century, remains a part of White House furnishings and in this photograph shows a reflection of the Red Room.
  • A "Powwow" at the White House
    Harper's Weekly
    delegations
    East Room
    State Floor
    engravings
    American Indians
    This wood engraving appeared in "Harper's Weekly" and is entitled "A 'Powwow' at the White House." The engraving shows President Hayes meeting with Native Americans in the East Room of the White House. Hayes hosted several Native American delegations during his time in office.
  • State Dinner at the White House to the Joint High Commissioners, March 9th 1871
    Unknown
    State Dining Room
    engraving
    State Floor
    delegation
    State Dinner
    This hand-colored wood engraving of the State Dining Room by an unknown artist was made during the Ulysses S. Grant administration. The wood engraving captures a State Dinner held for the Joint High Commissioners on March 9, 1871. The Commission was made up of delegates from the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States and eventually led to the signing of the Treaty of Washington in 1871, which settled disputes between the three nations.
  • State Dinner at the White House, Grover Cleveland Administration
    Thure de Thulstrup
    State Dining Room
    State Floor
    engraving
    State Dinner
    This hand-colored wood engraving by Thure De Thulstrup, a Swedish American illustrator renowned for his military depictions, was made in 1889 during the Grover Cleveland administration. The engraving depicts a state dinner hosted by President Cleveland in honor of the diplomatic corps on January 24, 1889. On the left is Chinese diplomat and politician Zhang Yinhuan, who attended the event in the old State Dining Room before it was renovated by Theodore Roosevelt in 1902.
  • Monroe Plateau in Situ
    Denière et Matelin
    centerpieces
    lighting
    candlesticks
    tableware
    State Dining Room
    State Floor
    furnishings
    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.
  • The Republican Court in the Days of Lincoln
    Peter Frederick Rothermel
    East Room
    State Floor
    receptions
    inaugurations
    painting
    Cabinet
    This painting by Peter Frederick Rothermel depicts a fictitious formal reception in the East Room of the White House following President Abraham Lincoln's second inauguration on March 4, 1865. The painting features a number of historical figures: President Abraham Lincoln (standing to the right of the large chandelier that intersects the middle of the painting) with General Ulysses S. Grant to Lincoln's right, presenting his wife, Julia Dent Grant, to the president (in a light pink gown, shaking hands with Lincoln). First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln stands to Lincoln's left, holding a fan to the shoulder of General Winfield Scott. To the left of the chandelier, orator Edward Everett (who died in January 1865, before the scene portrayed this painting purportedly took place) is seated, and Secretary of State William H. Seward and General William Tecumseh Sherman are standing (Sherman stands between the two men, but toward the back). Rothermel was an American painter who is mostly known for his large historical paintings.
  • Grand Reception at the White House, January 1862
    Alfred R. Waud
    State Floor
    engraving
    receptions
    Cabinet
    military
    Blue Room
    New Year's
    This hand-colored wood engraving by Alfred R. Waud appeared in the centerfold of Harper's Weekly on January 25, 1862. Waud made a sketch in person at the reception, which was the basis for the engraving. Abraham Lincoln, tallest man present, welcomes guests near a White House doorway during a Grand Reception in January 1862. Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase and his daughter Kate greet Mrs. Lincoln, while several Union Army officers fill out the scene.
  • 1938 Steinway Piano, The Grand Foyer, 2002
    Lu Zhen-Huan
    Entrance Hall
    State Floor
    instruments
    music
    painting
    This painting was done by Lu Zhen-Huan for the 2002 White House Christmas card. Lu was born in Shanghai, China in 1950 and studied at the famed Shanghai Theater Academy's Department of Scenic Design, where he obtained a Bachelor's Degree in oil painting. He immigrated to the United States and became an American citizen following a solo exhibition in New York City in 1986.