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Records of the White House Office of Speechwriting (George H. W. Bush Administration)
Tony Snow Subject Files
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Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
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S
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Snow, Tony, Files
Subseries:
Subject File, 1988-1993
OA/ID Number:
13894
Folder ID Number:
13894-008
Folder Title:
[Executive Office Building-History]
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Section:
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G
18
29
2
2
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
Telephone Directory
Construction of the south wing, June 24. 1873
(National Archives).
Creating the
State, War, and Navy Building
Elsa M. Santoyo
Originally named the State, War, and Navy
the old buildings and the construction of a single
Building after the three executive departments
building, "similar in ground plan and dimensions
for which it was designed and built, the Old
to the Treasury Building," in the French style on
Executive Office Building today houses the agen-
a site across from the White House. 1 With the
cies that comprise the executive offices of the
approval of the Grant administration, and an
President. This historical connection to the
initial congressional appropriation in 1871 of
presidency dates to 1798, long before ground
$500,000, planning for construction began under
was broken for its foundation.
the direction of Secretary of State Hamilton
That year George Washington, asserting that
Fish.
2
because of their function they required proximity
Hamilton Fish endorsed the cosmopolitan new
to the President, secured the location of original
French Second Empire style, which had become
executive departments on either side of the
popular in contemporary Europe with the con-
White House. By 1826 four identical, separate
struction of Louis Visconti and Hector Lefuel's
brick structures had been constructed and were
new Louvre in 1852. To design the new State,
occupied by the State, War, Navy, and Treasury
War, and Navy Building in this idiom, he selected
departments. Centered around the President's
Alfred Bult Mullett, who had served on the 1869
home, the group formed the executive core of
commission with Fish and at the age of 36 was
government.
the Supervising Architect of the Treasury
The expansion of the four departments
(SAOT). In this role Mullett was responsible for
paralleled that of the young nation, and by the
the construction of many post offices, custom
1830s they had outgrown their original office
houses, and courthouses across the country.
space. Furthermore, a series of damaging fires
And although he had designed many of those
over 30 years made the construction of new
federal buildings in the classical revival style,
offices that would accommodate departmental
he had just as successfully designed many
personnel and safeguard government documents
Second Empire buildings, such as the New York
a high priority. By the 1840s the new Treasury
Courthouse and Post Office (1869-1874).
Building occupied the site to the east of the
Despite his already staggering workload as
White House, but the new State, War, and Navy
SAOT, Mullett obliged the Secretary and
buildings were yet to be determined. After many
reluctantly assumed the task.
early plans and a design competition for the new
offices, the outbreak of the Civil War postponed
construction of the new executive office
buildings.
In 1869, during the first year of the Grant
administration, Congress created a commission
to study the possibility of accommodating the
State War, and Navy Departments in larger
In its report to the Committees on
Buildings and Grounds in January of 1870,
the Commission recommended the demolition of
North facade of Old Executive Office Building.
C. 1890 (Library of Congress).
Within a year of the selection of the building
granite, some weighing over 10 tons, were hauled
site in 1870, Mullett designed the floor plans,
in from quarries in Virginia and Maine. The first
exterior elevations and a number of interiors
block was laid in January of 1872, and construc-
for the State, War, and Navy Building. These
tion for the wing was completed in July of 1875.
designs reveal his knowledge of European ar-
Because the interior finishes were highly
chitecture, which he had been able to study at
decorative and required overtime for their
first hand during his travels in Europe in 1860,
execution, the State Department could not oc-
distilled by his training as a draftsman in the office
cupy its wing of the building until the following
of Isaiah Rogers. 3 His architectural training was
December.
typical for the period, when the education of
Neither Mullett nor Fish oversaw the
American students consisted of few formal
construction of the building to its completion.
courses in architectural history combined with
Mullett resigned as SAOT at the end of 1874
the practicalities of working through the ranks in
because of bitter differences with Secretary of
an architectural office. 4 The designers,
Treasury Benjamin Bristow, and Fish relinquished
engineers, general draftsmen and tracers in
his responsibilities when the State Department
these offices had to produce working drawings
wing was finished. Mullett was succeeded briefly
detailing the sizes and specifications of all the
by architect William Potter and then by Orville
components of the building to guide bidding and
Babcock, who was Commissioner of Public
construction.
Buildings and in charge of all government
This architectural tradition is manifested in
buildings in the capital. Finally, Thomas Lincoln
Mullett's own designs for the building, which he
Casey of the Army Corps of Engineers became
rendered with bold shapes and abundant details.
superintendent in 1877 and oversaw construction
Enald
Neward.
The exterior is based on his Post Office and
of the building until its completion in 1888.
GussPristus
Griebel.
aven
Hesto.
Sub-Treasury Building in Boston (1868-1872),
As superintendent, Casey was concerned that
Drafting force for Bldg 1878
Mullett conceived the State, War, and Navy
construction costs be kept down and managed
Building as an open rectangle with a center wing
to reduce expenses by as much as 43 percent in
dividing its interior into two central courts. Its
the north, west, and center wings. Part of the
short north and south facades are similar to the
savings was due to the availability of cheaper
long east and west elevations; each facade being
labor in the 1880s.
three stories set on a rusticated ground floor
Casey selected Richard von Ezdorf as the
with a fourth story added on each of the central
principal designer for the unfinished east, and the
projecting five bay wide pavilions, accented with
unconstructed west, north, and center wings of
entrance porticoes and emphasized by wide
the building. Von Ezdorf had been employed by
steps. Corner pavilions three bays wide anchor
the office of the SAOT where he was detailed to
all the facades and connect the four exterior
work as a draftsman under Mullett exclusively on
wings. The entire building is capped with a man-
the State, War, and Navy Building. Von Ezdorf,
sard roof that rises one full story in height.
who received his Beaux-Arts education at
On June 21, 1871, ground was broken for the
schoolsin Germany, Austria, andItaly, introduced
State Department's south wing. As the founda-
a distinctly European influence to the building's
Drafting force of the State, War, and Navy
tion was dug for this wing, huge blocks of
interiors with his intricate and elaborate designs.
Building, 1878 (von Ezdorf family).
3
(ssudual) jo samp
icent of the Secretary of War, C. 1932
From 1876 until 1888 he was primarily
In May 1879, with the south and east wings
The construction of the State, War, and Navy
responsible for the design of all of the libraries
completed and the old War Department Building
Building, which had begun with the ground-
and corridors and of the sculpture filling the
demolished to clear the site, construction began
breaking of the south wing in 1871, continued
pediments on the building's exterior.
on the north wing. Although work progressed
uninterrupted for 17 years. By 1888 the State
Ground was broken for the east wing in July
rapidly on this wing, it had already been pressed
Department was housed in the south wing, the
1872. Intended for occupancy by the Navy
into service by the War Department for one year
Navy Department was settled in the east wing,
Department, the wing was begun under the
before its completion in 1884. The north wing
and the War Department had moved into the
supervision of Alfred Mullett, but its best
temporarily housed the principal offices of that
north, west, and center wings. The growth of
interiors were designed by von Ezdorf and
department for the final five years of building
the three executive departments that had
others who succeeded Mullett after his resigna-
construction, which included the erection and
paralleled the growth of an expanding American
tion in 1874. The corridors and the architectural
completion of the west wing. By January of 1888,
republic had compelled the three departments
features they contain, including the composite
upon completion of the West Rotunda and War
to locate themselves in larger quarters. The
order cast-iron columns and pilasters, the plaster
Library, which were the last areas to be finished
resultant State, War, and Navy Building was in-
entablature, and the cantilevered winding granite
in the west wing, the offices of the War Depart-
fluenced not only by that growth but also by how
staircases that rise from the basement to the
ment occupied all of the north, center, and west
the American government saw itself at the third
East Rotunda, are identical to those found in the
wings.
quarter of the 19th century. That the building
south wing. The Navy Library and Reception
As the offices were finished, the three depart-
was designed and constructed in the French
Room, on the fourth and fifth floors of the
ments commissioned their owninterior decoration.
Second Empire style in deliberate contrast to
east wing's center pavilion, was designed by
The work was usually executed by architects,
the classical style of government buildings
von Ezdorf in the prevailing cathedral style of
designers, or artists from their own designs on
constructed before the Civil War implied that
libraries of the late 1870s and 1880s. 5 Con-
the basis of Casey's specifications. The Brooklyn
the government of the newly reunited nation
structed of cast iron, as was the Library of the
firm of John Herbold was responsible for the
perceived itself as different from the government
State Department in the south wing, the Navy
Neo-Grec wall paintings in the Office of the
that had represented the young republic. In style
Library is a tall reading room walled by balconied
Secretary of the Navy, and the intricate mar-
and size, the new State, War, and Navy Building
stacks that were entered through arched open-
quetry pattern that covered the floors was the
equaled and rivaled its European counterparts
ings on either of the side walls, and the cast-iron
work of William J. McPherson of Boston. The
and expressed the ambitious aspirations of the
stained-glass capped Rotunda whose Neo-Grec
New York architect Stephen D. Hatch designed
American republic that had endured and was
ornament von Ezdorf also designed, balance the
the Office of the Secretary of War. This suite is
expanding across the continent.
War Library and its corresponding rotunda in the
the only one in the building decorated in the
west center pavilion.
Aesthetic style and the only one with wood door
and window architraves and wainscotting as well
as wood mantels. Its frescoed ceiling was painted
by Otto C. Ficht with figures that allegorize War
and Peace.
5
CHRONOLOGY OF CONSTRUCTION AND HISTORICAL EVENTS
DATE
OEOB CONSTRUCTION
RELATED EVENTS
1800
Construction of first pair of
office buildings designed
by George Hadfield for State,
War, Navy and Treasury
departments on sites flanking
White House.
1814
Executive office buildings
and White House partially
burned by British troops in
War of 1812.
1838-1842
Several proposals prepared by
Robert Mills for combining
War and Navy buildings into a
single large executive office
building comparable in design
to the Treasury.
1852
Single executive office
building west of White House
proposed by Thomas U. Walter
comparable to his design for
the Treasury Building
extension.
1866
Alfred B. Mullett appointed
Supervising Architect of the
Treasury (SAOT).
Old State Department building
demolished for construction
of existing Treasury
Building; State Department
forced to move to offices in
the Washington City
Protestant Orphan Asylum.
1869
Commission formed to recommend
a site for combined State, War
and Navy Building and to
procure designs and cost
estimates.
1870
Single new building on site of
old War and Navy Department
buildings proposed by Grant
Administration to house State
War and Navy Departments.
Design by Alfred B. Mullett accepted
1871
Congress approves project and
initial appropriation; ground
breaking for construction of
south wing (State
Department).
1872
First granite stone for south
wing is laid.
Ground broken for east wing
(Navy Department).
1873
First granite stone for east
Richard von Ezdorf begins
wing is laid.
working for Mullett in the
office of the Supervising
Architect of the Treasury
1874
Mullett resigns as SAOT.
1875
Hamilton Fish, Secretary of
State under President Grant,
moves into south wing with his
staff of 54.
1877
Last granite stone is set in
east wing.
1879
East wing completed and ready
Demolition of Old War
for occupancy; War and Navy
Department Building.
move in.
Ground broken for north
wing on site of the old
War Department Building
1881
Last granite stone of the
Telegraph and Telephone lines
north wing is laid.
are installed in the building
by the Army Signal Corps.
1882
North wing ready for
Congress assigns the fourth
occupancy.
story and attic, except for
the Library, of the south
wing to the War Department
and directs that partition
brick walls between the south
and east wings be removed.
1883
War Department moves into
north wing from the east
wing.
1884
Ground is broken for west and
Demolition of old Navy
center wings to be occupied by
Department Building
the War Department.
Setting of first granite
Conference establishing
stone.
International Dateline and
Greenwich Mean Time held in
North wing completed.
State Department.
1886
Last granite stone in west
and center wings are laid.
1887
War Department moves into
west wing.
1888
West and center wings
completed.
1893
First light bulb used.
1896
Theodore Roosevelt appointed
Assistant Secretary of the
Navy under John D. Long.
Holds office in Room 278,
State, War and Navy Building
(SWN). .
1898
Secretary of State John Hay
hands the Spanish Ambassador
his passport and credentials
in Room 208, SWN signifying
United States declaration of
war against Spain.
1899
Superintendent Baird
introduces a mechanical
scrubber which can enable 2-3
women to perform the work of
10-12. The building's crew
of cleaning women heartily
resists.
1900-
Full phone service for
02
building.
1902
3,000 troops quartered in the
building for the inauguration
SO deface the walls, borders
and columns that congress
writes forbidding further
military quartering in
connection with
inaugurations.
1910
Claude-Graham White, pioneer
aviator, performs exhibition
flight over Washington and
lands on West Executive
Avenue between the SWN and
the West Wing of the White
House.
1911
Ice-making plant installed in
north court.
1913
Gas removed and first
Josephus Daniels appointed
electric system installed
Secretary of the Navy by
throughout.
President Woodrow Wilson;
remains through second term
to lead the Navy through
World War I with Franklin D.
Roosevelt as his assistant.
1914
Entire building repainted and
rewired for electricity.
1916
Original plumbing pipes and
fixtures replaced.
1918
Navy Department vacates SWN.
During the Flu epidemic, the
4500 employees (almost twice
the usual number of
occupants) are marched from
the building to the street
for a daily breather.
1924
The "Round the World Flyers"
decorated by Secretary of
War Dwight Davis.
Late 20s
Electric elevators replace
hydraulics.
1930
SWN renamed the Department of
State Building.
1938
War Department vacates
Building.
1939
Bureau of Budget moves in
from Treasury.
1941
In room 208, Cordell Hull
confronts Japanese envoys
with evidence of the bombing
of Pearl Harbor.
1944
"The State Department Speaks"
series is broadcast by
Secretary of State Cordell
Hull and other high-ranking
officials from their offices
in the building.
1947
State Department vacates
building.
1949
State Department Building
renamed Executive Office
Building.
1950
First presidential press
conference in Indian Treaty
Room.
1971
Executive Office Building
placed on the National
Register of Historic Places.
1972
Executive Office Building
registered as landmark
property on the district of
Columbia Inventory of
Historic Sites.
Alfred Bult Mullett (1834 - 1890)
A.M.Muillers
Alfred Bult Mullett was born in Taunton,
As SAOT, Mullett was responsible for
England in 1834. When he was 10 years old, his
overseeing the design and construction of all
family immigrated to the United States and settled
federal buildings in the country. In the post-Civil
in Glendale, Ohio, a town on the outskirts
War era of reconstruction and growth, Mullett
of Cincinnati. Mullett studied engineering and
faced a task of overwhelming proportions.
drafting for three terms at the Farmer's College
During the next eight years he oversaw the
near Cincinnati but did not receive a degree.
design and construction of approximately 40
In 1856 he joined the firm of Isaiah Rogers and
buildings. It was perhaps because of the
became a partner in 1860. Rogers was appointed
voluminous amount of work required of him that
Supervising Architect of the Treasury (SAOT) in
his health began to deteriorate. In October of
1862. By early 1863, Mullett joined his staff and
1874, because of recurring conflicts with
soon became assisting supervising architect.
Secretary of the Treasury Benjamin Bristow and
When Rogers resigned, Mullett gained the post
his own failing health, Mullett resigned his posi-
in 1866.
tion as Supervising Architect of the Treasury.
After trying unsuccessfully to regain his post,
Mullett remained absent from his profession for
10 years, then entered into private practice in
1884. One of his most notable achievements
during this phase of his career was his design for
the Baltimore Sun Building, which was the first
skyscraper built in Washington.
Although Mullett had established a successful
private practice, he became involved in several
lawsuits with the federal government in an effort
to collect architectural fees for his work on the
State, War, and Navy building. These attempts
were unsuccessful. In 1890, Mullett committed
suicide at his home at 25th and Pennsylvania
Avenue in Washington, DC.
Alfred B. Mullett, undated
(Columbia Historical Society).
Richard von Ezdorf (1848-1926)
Rich
Richard von Ezdorf was born in Venice in 1848.
He decided to study engineering and drafting at
the age of 18 and began his education at the
Academia del Arte in Venice. Between 1866 and
1868 he attended the University of Innsbruck,
Austria, and the Polytechnicum at Gratz,
Austria. From 1868 to 1870, he trained at the
Stuttgart Royal Polytechnic Academy and
graduated in 1870. He worked for a short time in
the service of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as
an engineer, but in 1871 he left Austria to travel
and by 1873 he had arrived in America.
Von Ezdorf worked as a draftsman under
Alfred Mullett and his successor William Pótter
in the office of the Supervising Architect of the
Treasury (SAOT) from 1873 to 1876. In 1876,
when Orville Babcock assumed responsibility for
the design and construction of the State, War,
and Navy Building, von Ezdorf was transferred
from the office of the SAOT to the newly created
State, War, and Navy Building Drafting Force.
When Thomas Lincoln Casey was made officer
in charge of the building in 1877, von Ezdorf
became the building's Chief Designer and
Draftsman, supervising the entire drafting force.
He and Casey worked well together for the next
10 years to complete the State, War, and Navy
Building.
When the building was completed in 1888,
von Ezdorf returned to the office of the SAOT
as an architectural draftsman. He remained in
government service until his retirement in 1920
at the age of 72. He died six years later in
Washington, DC.
Richard von Ezdorf, undated
(General Services Administration, Division
of Fine Arts and Historic Preservation).
Indian Treaty Room History
The OEOB was designed by architect Alfred B. Mullett and built
between 1871 and 1888. It was built to house the State War and
Navy Departments. The building was built wing by wing, the first
wing being the South or State Department wing, the second being
the East or Navy Department Wing (1872-1879).
Located on the fourth floor East wing is the Indian Treaty Room,
which was originally known as the Navy Department Library. It
was designed by Richard VonEzdorf, Draftsman for the Supervising
Architect of the Treasury. Completed in 1879, it cost more per
square foot than any other room in the building at about $33.50
per square foot (total $55,675.00). The room was used as a
library and a reception room. The design of the room includes
many nautical motifs - such as shells over the Italian and French
marble panels; seahorses and dolphins in the cast iron railing at
the second floor balcony; stars for navigation in the ceiling and
in the floor.
The sconces are the only surviving original lighting fixtures in
the building. The four on the lower level are bronze and weigh
close to 800 lbs each. They represent (reading clockwise from
the northwest corner: War & Peace, Liberty, Arts & Sciences, and
Industry & Technology. The round stones of the balcony are
Mexican Onyx. The floor is the original Minton Tile floor;
Minton Tile being an encaustic tile that has its color in the
body of the tile.
Although the room does not resemble a library, it did contain a
fairly large collection. By 1912 the holdings included 43,000
volumes, considered one of the "principal naval libraries of the
world.' The location for books was in the upper and lower
alcoves of either end of the room. The second floor north alcove
is currently being restored. The cast iron bookshelves (to be
reconstructed) wrapped around the alcove, with a hand elevator
for books running between the two floors.
The Navy Department vacated the building between 1918 and 1923,
and by 1930 the building was renamed the Department of State
Building; by 1949 the building was renamed the Executive Office
Building. In 1950 the first presidential press conference was
held in in the Indian Treaty Room; and they continued to be held
there for the next ten years.
The name "Indian Treaty Room" came about sometime during the
1930s, and it is still not clear as to where it originated,
despite extensive research. Some say it is due to the fact that
during 1879 the War department shared space with the Navy, and
that some papers may have been left over from the move, including
treaties with the waring nation of the American Indians. But
there is no definite answer.
Although most treaties were most likely signed in the State
Department Diplomatic Reception Room (212-214) and the Secretary
of State's office (208), a few were signed in the Indian Treaty
Room. These include Bretton Woods - establishing the
International Monetary Fund (IMF), Peace Treaties with Rumania,
Italy and Hungary after WWII, and the UN Charter.
Restoration of the main room was done between 1984 and 1985.
Today the room is used for meetings and receptions.
compliments of the OEOB Preservation Office, Room 484
April 1991
CABINET ROOM (center of room, then counterclockwise from north)
Cabinet Table
This large oval mahogany table (22 1/2 X 7 feet) was made by the
Kittinger Company of Buffalo, New York, and donated for use in
the Cabinet Room by President Richard M. Nixon.
Cabinet Chairs
Traditionally, when Cabinet members conclude their terms of
service, they are permitted to purchase their cabinet chairs,
which bear brass plaques marked with their offices and dates of
service. Made by the Kittinger Company, these chairs are derived
from Queen Anne armchairs in the Council Chamber at Colonial
Williamsburg. The taller chair at the center of the east side of
the table is occupied by the President.
Rug
The blue-green wool rug made by Carpet Masterpieces, Inc.,
New York, N.Y., was ordered during the Johnson administration but
installed early in the Nixon administration in 1969.
Mantel
The large white-painted wooden mantel has been situated in
the West Wing Cabinet Room since its creation in 1902, having
been moved each time the room was repositioned. It was made by
the Norcross Brothers, Worcester, Massachusetts, the builder of
the West Wing.
Clock-Barometer
This combined instrument was used on the U.S.S. Williamsburg
when it served as the presidential yacht during the Truman
administration and was probably transferred when the ship was
decommissioned in 1953.
The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America,
July 1873 4, 1776 by Charles-Edouard Armand-Dumaresq (1826-1895),
This depiction of the Second Continental Congress adopting that
historic document on July 4, 1776, was a preliminary oil sketch
for a painting that the artist executed in 1873 and later
exhibited at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.
Benjamin Franklin after Jean Jacques Caffieri (1725-1792)
The white marble bust of Franklin was sculpted by an unknown
artist after an original terra-cotta bust modeled from life by
Jean Jacques Caffieri in 1777, when Franklin was the American
emissary to the French court.
Bust of George Washington by Hiram Powers (1805-1873), 1860
Many prominent Americans, including Presidents Andrew Jackson and
Martin Van Buren, posed for Powers early in his career. This
white marble bust of Washington, not a life portrait, was created
later, after he received a commission for statues of two other
early patriots, Franklin and Jefferson, for the U.S. Capitol.
Regency Commode Pedestals
The tall mahogany pedestals, made circa 1805, probably in
England, are each fitted with a drawer and cabinet.
Thomas Jefferson by George P. A. Healy (1813-1894)
This painting is based on a life portrait by Gilbert Stuart.
It was originally part of a series of presidential portraits
commissioned in 1842 by King Louis Philippe of France for the
gallery at Versailles, but never delivered after the king was
overthrown in 1848. Lent by the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1982.
Abraham Lincoln by George H. Story (1835-1922), c.1915
This portrait was one of several executed by Story after sketches
he made of President Lincoln in his White House office (now the
Lincoln Bedroom) in June 1861.
Dwight D. Eisenhower by Thomas E. Stephens (1886-1966), 1960
This portrait is one of 21 of Eisenhower executed by Stephens,
the British-born artist who is recognized as the man who prompted
Eisenhower's interest in painting as a hobby. This painting also
hung in the Cabinet Room during the Nixon, Ford, and Reagan
administrations.
Theodore Roosevelt by Philip Alexius de Laszlo (1869-1937), 1910
De Laszlo first painted Roosevelt in 1908 from sittings at the
White House. This second portrait was painted, as inscribed, in
Paris on April 22, 1910. Having left office in March 1909,
Roosevelt went on an extensive African safari before touring
several European capitals on his way home to the United States.
ROOSEVELT ROOM (clockwise from door nearest the Reception Room)
Crossing the River Platte by Worthington Whittredge (1820-1910),
c.1871
Whittredge accompanied an 1865-66 military expedition across the
Plains along the Platte River and Rocky Mountains from Kansas to
New Mexico. Back in New York he painted this scene of Indians
fording the river in what is now eastern Colorado.
Theodore Roosevelt by James Earle Fraser (1876-1953), c.1920
This bronze-patinated metal plaque shows a profile bust portrait
with Roosevelt's quotation, "Aggressive fighting for the right is
the noblest sport the world affords". The sculptor also designed
the buffalo nickel.
Theodore Roosevelt by Tade Styka (1889-1954), c.1909
This equestrian portrait depicts Roosevelt in a tan uniform,
possibly his Rough Rider outfit. It is believed to have been
painted at the time that Roosevelt visited the artist's studio
near Paris after his term of office.
Nobel Peace Prize Medal
This gold medal was awarded to President Theodore Roosevelt in
1906 for his mediation of the Russo-Japanese War peace
settlement. Weighing about two pounds, it bears on its obverse
a portrait of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor of dynamite,
whose fortune endowed the five prizes named for him. The reverse
features three embracing figures and the Latin inscription,
"For Peace and Fraternity among Mankind" in Latin. This, the
first Nobel prize awarded to an American, was donated in 1982 by
the Theodore Roosevelt Association on the 125th anniversary of
the birth of Theodore Roosevelt.
Franklin D. Roosevelt by John DeStefano (1915-?), c.1933.
This bronze plaque, sculpted in 1933 at the beginning of
Roosevelt's first term, bears a profile bust portrait and a
quotation from the Roman statesman Seneca - "I shall hold my
rudder true". Lent by the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library in 1969.
Franklin D. Roosevelt by Alfred Jonniaux (1882-?), 1958
This portrait was painted from photographs under the supervision
of Basil O'Connor, a close personal friend of President
Roosevelt, and is considered to be one of the best likenesses.
Lent by the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library in 1978.
View of the City of Washington from the Virginia Shore
by William MacLeod (1811-1892), 1856
The artist, who painted himself at work in the lower right,
executed this view of Washington from across the Potomac near his
native Alexandria, Virginia. The most prominent structures of
the somewhat distant city are the unfinished Washington Monument
at the left, the U.S. Capitol with its earlier dome at center,
and the Washington Navy Yard at the right.
Our Vanishing Wildlife by Alexander Pope (1849-1924), c.1915
The original sculpture of a bison battling wolves, from which
this bronze was cast, was acclaimed at the 1915 Panama-Pacific
Exposition in San Francisco. Lent by The Barra Foundation, Inc.,
in 1980.
Tallcase Clock
Housed in a simple Federal-style mahogany case, the works of this
clock were made by Charles Canby, Wilmington, Delaware, c.1830.
WEST WING RECEPTION ROOM (clockwise from entry)
Andrew Jackson by Clark Mills. (1815-1883), 1855
Cast by Cornelius & Baker, Philadelphia, this is a miniature
version of the 1853 statue in the center of Lafayette Square
across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House. That statue,
showing General Jackson as the hero of the Battle of New Orleans
in 1815, was the first equestrian bronze cast in the United
States and a major technological achievement for depicting
Jackson on a rearing horse. U.S. Government purchase in 1859.
Point Lobos, Monterey, California
by Thomas Moran (1837-1926), 1912
Moran traveled extensively in the American West, beginning in
1871, vividly recording the magnificent scenery he encountered.
This painting is signed with both his name and thumbprint.
John Tyler by James Reid Lambdin (1807-1889), 1841
At the death of President William Henry Harrison after only one
month in office, Tyler became the first Vice President to succeed
to the Presidency, April 6, 1841. As an inscription on the
reverse indicates, Lambdin finished painting the new President's
head on June 22 in Washington, D.C. and then completed this small
full-length portrait in Philadelphia later in the year. Through
the imaginary drapery, one can see the U.S. Capitol as it looked
from 1825-1856.
Zachary Taylor by Eliphalet Frazer Andrews (1835-1915), 1879
When Rutherford B. Hayes became president in 1877, eight
presidents were not represented by portraits in the White House,
a deficiency which he proudly corrected during his term. Andrews
painted four of these portraits, including this copy of a life
portrait by John Vanderlyn at the Corcoran Gallery of Art.
Taylor 1849-1850. was the second president to die in office, serving
The First Naval Action in the War of 1812
by William John Huggins (1781-1845), 1816
This large maritime painting depicts the naval division of
Commodore John Rodgers pursuing the frigate H.M.S. Belvidera,
five days after the United States had declared war on Great
Britain in 1812. It was probably based on a sketch by James
Stilwell, an officer on the Belvidera.
Boehm Birds
Made by Edward Marshall Boehm, Inc., Trenton, New Jersey, these
porcelain figurines include (from top) bob white and California
quail, wood thrushes, blue jays and mockingbirds, and ruffed
grouse and Carolina wrens. Such birds were a popular state gift
during the Nixon administration. This group, donated by Mrs.
Edward Marshall Boehm in 1969, are displayed in an English
mahogany bookcase made circa 1770.
Washington Crossing the Delaware
by Eastman Johnson (1824-1906), 1851
The success of Emanuel Leutze's monumental life-size painting of
this subject (1850) led a New York publisher to commission a
smaller version from which to produce an engraving. Leutze,
working in Dusseldorf, assigned this project to one of his
American students, Eastman Johnson. The circulation of the prints
made from this painting increased the great popularity of this
scene of the American Revolution. Lent by the Alex and Marie
Manoogian Foundation in 1979.
Gallery Clock
This gilded-wood wall clock, a type used in public buildings,
contains works made by Simon Willard, Roxbury, Massachusetts.
c.1810.
James Monroe by Adrian Lamb (1901-
), 1975.
This is a copy of a Gilbert Stuart portrait. Although
the original was not acquired for the White House when the
opportunity arose in 1840, it did hang in the Blue Room on loan,
1972-1975, before this copy was commissioned.
Cannonading 1861 on the Potomac by A. Wordsworth Thompson (1840-1896),
This Civil War scene was painted by Thompson from sketches which
he made of the Battle of Ball's Bluff, on the Potomac River near
Leesburg, Virginia, on October 21, 1861. Killed in the battle
was Colonel Edward D. Baker, a longtime friend of Abraham
Lincoln, after whom the president's second son was named.
THE OVAL OFFICE (counterclockwise from hallway door)
Andrew Jackson by Thomas Sully (1783-1872), c.1824
After studying with John Trumbull and Gilbert Stuart, Sully
opened a Philadelphia studio where he painted many illustrious
Americans, becoming one of America's foremost portraitists.
Lent by the National Gallery of Art in 1976.
Cane-Backed Armchairs
Purchased for the new West Wing in 1902 from A.H. Davenport Co.,
Boston, Massachusetts, five of the cane-backed mahogany armchairs
have been in use in the Oval Office since 1930. The sixth is a
reproduction.
Federal Card Tables
The pair of mahogany folding-top card tables was made in
New England, possibly in Connecticut, 1790-1810.
Sapphire Presidential Busts
The square display case contains four busts - George Washington
(1056 carats), Thomas Jefferson (1381), Abraham Lincoln (1318),
and Dwight D. Eisenhower (1444) - carved in the 1950's from some
of the world's largest sapphires found in Queensland, Australia.
Bust of Theodore Roosevelt
by James Earle Fraser (1876-1953), c.1920
This small bronze bust shows Theodore Roosevelt in the
neckerchief and uniform jacket worn when he was a Rough Rider
(1st U.S. Cavalry Volunteers) in the Spanish-American War.
The sculptor also designed the buffalo nickel.
Chinese Export Porcelain
The platter and plates are part of an 80-piece porcelain dinner
service, not an official White House state service, made in
China, circa 1800.
Silver Inkstand
An official reproduction of the inkstand in Independence Hall in
Philadelphia which was used for the signing of the Declaration of
Independence in 1776, this piece is on loan to the President from
the Diplomatic Reception Rooms, the Department of State.
Silver Eagles
The pair of silverplated spread-winged eagles are from a set of
eight table ornaments which was purchased for the Wh te House in
1958 and often used on buffet tables in the State Dining Room.
Federal Chest of Drawers
The mahogany chest of drawers was made in Massachusetts, circa
1790.
Ship Model - "U.S.S. Constitution"
The model was hand-assembled by Booth Chick, Kennebunkport,
Maine, in 1989 and presented as a gift to President Bush. The
frigate Constitution, launched in Boston in 1797, earned enduring
fame during the War of 1812 and the nickname, "Old Ironsides".
Gookin's Falls, Rutland, Vermont
by Frederic E. Church (1826-1900), 1848
Church was a major 19th-century American landscape painter best
known for his panoramic views of exotic areas in North and South
America. Painted in 1848, early in his career, this painting
already exhibits his special emphasis on light and cloud effects.
Partner's Desk
This walnut desk was installed in the Oval Office in June 1989,
after having been used by the President in his Residence office
and in his Vice Presidential office in the West Wing. One of
four made about 1920 for the owners of the Chesapeake & Ohio
Railway Company, it is modeled after an 18th century English
partner's desk with a full set of drawers on each side. It was
also used by Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter in the
President's West Wing Study, adjoining the Oval Office.
Chinese Fish Bowls
The pair of large, circular porcelain bowls, originally used for
gold fish but presently used as planters, were made in China,
circa 1800.
Eagle Card Table
The mahogany folding-top card table with the gilded eagle
pedestal is attributed to Salem, Massachusetts, circa 1810.
The President's House by an Unknown Artist
The painting of the White House is based on an 1839 engraving of
a drawing by English artist, William Henry Bartlett (1809-1854).
This slightly fanciful depiction of the White House above Tiber
Creek, where now runs Constitution Avenue, is believed to have
been executed in the mid-nineteenth century.
Broncho Buster by Frederic Remington (1861-1909), c.1903.
This casting (#23) of Remington's first work of sculpture,
copyrighted in 1895, was created by the lost-wax process at the
Roman Bronze Works, Corona, N.Y.
The Rattlesnake by Frederic Remington (1861-1909), 1909.
This bronze sculpture (cast #14) of a cowboy's horse rearing
before a rattlesnake in the path was copyrighted by Remington in
1905. According to one Remington scholar, it was the artist's
favorite of his works of sculpture. The lost wax process of
casting at the Roman Bronze Works, Corona, New York, permitted
small variations in each finished work, such as changing the
positioning of the snake. Lent by Dr. Harrison Monk in 1981.
Tall Case Clock
The richly veneered case was probably made by John and Thomas
Seymour, prominent Boston cabinetmakers, in the early nineteenth
century. Although the dial is not marked, the works are possibly
by James Douell of Charlestown, Massachusetts.
Federal Card Table
The mahogany card table with drapery swags carved on its apron
was made circa 1800, possibly in New York.
Benjamin Franklin by Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828)
This bronze bust of Franklin in plain period dress is probably
the most familiar depiction of this famous American statesman,
largely because so many other artists copied it. A terra cotta
bust which Houdon executed in 1778, when Franklin was American
minister to France, was possibly the original likeness from which
he fashioned this bronze.
The Three Tetons by Thomas Moran (1837-1926), 1895
Best known for his landscapes of the American West, some of
Moran's watercolors of the Yellowstone region helped to convince
the U.S. Government to establish Yellowstone National Park in
1872. This view of the Idaho or western side of the Grand Teton
Range was apparently executed from sketches made in 1879 during
Moran's only visit to those mountains.
George Washington by Rembrandt Peale (1778-1860), c.1823
Peale's original "porthole" likeness, begun in 1823, is believed
to be the one which now hangs in the Old Senate Chamber of the
United States Capitol. From it, Peale painted 79 similar
portraits, some in civilian dress, as the Capitol painting, and
some in the buff and blue uniform of the Continental Army, such
as this example.
Mantel
The classical white marble mantel was installed in the original
Oval Office in 1909 and retained when the room was moved during
the 1934 expansion of the West Wing.
Chinese Jars
The pair of tall porcelain jars were made in China in the K'ang
Hsi period (1662-1722). The dogs on the lids are a Buddhist
guardian symbol.
City of Washington From Beyond the Navy Yard
by George Cooke (1793-1849), 1833
This painting depicts the city of Washington as seen from the
southeast, across the Anacostia River on which is situated the
Washington Navy Yard. The White House can be seen at the left
center. center and the U.S. Capitol with its earlier dome at the right
Pembroke Tables
The two drop-leaf breakfast or "pembroke" tables were made in New
York, circa 1785-1800.
Chinese Porcelain Lamps
The pair of Chinese porcelain vases mounted as lamps were made in
the Ch'ien Lung period (1736-1795).
Rug
This oval rug (30'10" long X 23'5" wide) was specially designed
for the Oval Office in 1989 by Mark Hampton and the staff of
Hokanson, Inc., Houston, Texas. The grey-blue field centers the
coat-of-arms from the Presidential Seal. The border of
ribbon-tied rods is derived from the fasces, a classical Roman
symbol of the governing authority which appears as the carved
moldings above the Oval Office doorways.
[possible clumping of antique furniture (other than clock),
Federal Mahogany Furniture
Pair of inlaid card tables, made in New England,
possibly Connecticut, 1790-1810;
Chest of drawers, made in Massachusetts, circa 1790;
Card table with gilded eagle pedestal, attributed to Salem,
Massachusetts, circa 1810;
Card table carved with drapery swags, possibly made in New
York, circa 1800;
Breakfast or "pembroke" tables, made in New York,
circa 1785-1800.]