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White House Office of the Curator

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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
AppointerPresident of the United States
Formation1961; 63 years ago (1961)
First holderLorraine Waxman Pearce
Websitewww.whitehouse.gov
A marble bust of George Washington by sculptor Giuseppe Ceracchi (1751–1801) receives conservation work in the China Room.

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

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The 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

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White House Ground Floor showing location of the Office of the Curator.

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   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

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ "Hail to the Chief Curator". White House Historical Association. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Curator's Office". The White House Museum.
  3. ^ House, The White (2024-05-02). "White House Announces Appointment of New Curator". The White House. Retrieved 2024-10-22.

References

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  • 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.
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