Treasures Of The White House

For nearly two centuries, the White House has served as the residence of our nation’s president and his family. John and Abigail Adams were the first residents, and each family ever since has been encouraged, through congressional appropriations and private contributions, to make the White House a comfortable home and to provide the necessities for handsomely carrying out its additional functions as nexus for state ceremony and entertaining. As a result, the decorative objects acquired for the White House cover a wide range of genres, all rich with historic association.

Betty C. Monkman has worked in the White House curator’s office since 1967; in 1997 she was named curator. She has written numerous articles on White House decorative arts and has lectured throughout the country. Bruce White, formerly a staff photographer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, specializes in the photography of works of art and architecture.