White House Office of the Curator

A marble bust of George Washington by sculptor Giuseppe Ceracchi (1751–1801) receives conservation work in the China Room.

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

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 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.

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 position was begun during the administration of President John F. Kennedy while First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy oversaw the restoration of the White House. The first Curator of the White House was Lorraine Waxman Pearce who was appointed in March 1961. Pearce was a graduate of the preservation program at the Winterthur Museum.

Curators of the White House

To date seven curators have served in the White House; they are:

• Lorraine Waxman Pearce, 1961–1962
• William Vos Elder III, 1962–1963
• James R. Ketchum, 1963–1969
• Clement Ellis Conger, 1969–1986
• Rex Scouten, 1986–1997
• Betty C. Monkman, 1997–2002
• William G. Allman, 2002–present

See also

• Committee for the Preservation of the White House
• White House Historical Association

References

• 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.

External links

• White House website biography of curator William G. Allman