This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (August 2009) |
The White House Office of the Curator is charged with the conservation and study of the collection of fine art, furniture, and decorative objects used to furnish both the public and private rooms of the White House as an official residence and as an accredited historic house museum.[1]
| White House Curator | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Executive Residence | |
| Appointer | President of the United States |
| Formation | 1961 |
| First holder | Lorraine Waxman Pearce |
| Website | www |
The office began in 1961 during the administration of President John F. Kennedy while First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy oversaw the restoration of the White House.[2] The office is located in the ground floor of the White House Executive Residence. The office, headed by the curator of the White House, includes an associate curator, an assistant curator, and a curatorial assistant. The office works with the chief usher, the Committee for the Preservation of the White House, and the White House Historical Association.
The most recent White House curator is Donna Hayashi Smith, appointed in May 2024. Previously it was Lydia Tederick, appointed in 2017.[3]
Curators' charge
editThe curator of the White House, or less formally White House curator, is head of the White House Office of the Curator which is charged with the conservation and study of the collection of fine art, furniture, and decorative objects used to furnish both the public and private rooms of the White House.
The first curator of the White House was Lorraine Waxman Pearce, appointed in March 1961. Pearce graduated from the preservation program at the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum.
Curators of the White House
edit
To date, eight curators have served in the White House; they are:
| No. | Image | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of office | President(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Post established in 1961 | |||||
| 1 | Lorraine Waxman Pearce (1934–2017) |
1961–1962 | John F. Kennedy | ||
| 2 | William Voss Elder III (1932–2014) |
1962–1963 | John F. Kennedy | ||
| 3 | James R. Ketchum (1939–) |
1963–1969 | John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson Richard Nixon | ||
| 4 | .jpg) |
Clement Conger (1912–2004) |
1970–1986 | Richard Nixon Gerald Ford Jimmy Carter Ronald Reagan | |
| 5 |  |
Rex Scouten (1924–2013) |
1986–1997 | Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton | |
| 6 | Betty C. Monkman | 1997–2002 | Bill Clinton George W. Bush | ||
| 7 | William G. Allman (1952–) |
2002–2017 | George W. Bush Barack Obama Donald Trump | ||
| 8 | Lydia Tederick (1955–) |
2017–2024 | Donald Trump Joe Biden | ||
| 9 | Donna Hayashi Smith | 2024 - Present | Joe Biden | ||
See also
editFootnotes
edit- ^ "Hail to the Chief Curator". White House Historical Association. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ "Curator's Office". The White House Museum.
- ^ House, The White (2024-05-02). "White House Announces Appointment of New Curator". The White House. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
References
edit- Abbott James A., and Elaine M. Rice. Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration. Van Nostrand Reinhold: 1998. ISBN 0-442-02532-7.
- Garrett, Wendell. Our Changing White House. Northeastern University Press: 1995. ISBN 1-55553-222-5.
- Monkman, Betty C. The White House: The Historic Furnishing & First Families. Abbeville Press: 2000. ISBN 0-7892-0624-2.
- The White House: An Historic Guide. White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 2001. ISBN 0-912308-79-6.