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White House Office of the Curator
Office of the White House
Office of the White House
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| post | White House Curator |
| insignia | The White House logo under Trump 2.0.jpg |
| insigniasize | 150px |
| department | Executive Residence |
| incumbent | Donna Hayashi Smith |
| first | Lorraine Waxman Pearce |
| appointer | President of the United States |
| formation | |
| website |
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.
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. 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.
Curators' charge
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
To date, eight curators have served in the White House; they are:
| No. | Image | Name | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (Birth–Death) | Term of office | President(s) | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ||
| Post established in 1961 | |||||||||||||
| Lorraine Waxman Pearce | |||||||||||||
| (1934–2017) | 1961–1962 | John F. Kennedy | |||||||||||
| William Voss Elder III | |||||||||||||
| (1932–2014) | 1962–1963 | John F. Kennedy | |||||||||||
| James R. Ketchum | |||||||||||||
| (1939–2024) | 1963–1969 | John F. Kennedy | |||||||||||
| Lyndon B. Johnson | |||||||||||||
| Richard Nixon | |||||||||||||
| [[File:JFKWHP-KN-C19433 (cropped).jpg | 80px]] | Clement Conger | |||||||||||
| (1912–2004) | 1970–1986 | Richard Nixon | |||||||||||
| Gerald Ford | |||||||||||||
| Jimmy Carter | |||||||||||||
| Ronald Reagan | |||||||||||||
| [[File:Rex Scouten and Ted Graber.jpg | 80px]] | Rex Scouten | |||||||||||
| (1924–2013) | 1986–1997 | Ronald Reagan | |||||||||||
| George H. W. Bush | |||||||||||||
| Bill Clinton | |||||||||||||
| Betty C. Monkman | 1997–2002 | Bill Clinton | |||||||||||
| George W. Bush | |||||||||||||
| William G. Allman | |||||||||||||
| (1952–) | 2002–2017 | George W. Bush | |||||||||||
| Barack Obama | |||||||||||||
| Donald Trump | |||||||||||||
| Lydia Tederick | |||||||||||||
| (1955–) | 2017–2024 | Donald Trump | |||||||||||
| Joe Biden | |||||||||||||
| Donna Hayashi Smith | 2024–Present | Joe Biden | |||||||||||
| Donald Trump |
Footnotes
References
- Abbott James A., and Elaine M. Rice. Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration. Van Nostrand Reinhold: 1998. .
- Garrett, Wendell. Our Changing White House. Northeastern University Press: 1995. .
- Monkman, Betty C. The White House: The Historic Furnishing & First Families. Abbeville Press: 2000. .
- The White House: An Historic Guide. White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 2001. .
References
- "Hail to the Chief Curator".
- "Curator's Office". The White House Museum.
- House, The White. (2024-05-02). "White House Announces Appointment of New Curator".
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