View source for White House Office of the Curator

{{short description|Office of the White House}}
{{more footnotes|date=August 2009}}
{{Infobox US Cabinet
| post            = White House Curator
| insignia        =US-WhiteHouse-Logo.svg
| insigniasize    =175px
| insigniacaption =
| department      = Executive Residence
| image           = 
| incumbent       = [[Lydia Tederick]]
| incumbentsince  = 
| incumbentend    = 
| first           = [[Lorraine Waxman Pearce]]
| appointer       = President of the United States
| formation       = {{start date and age|1961}}
| website         = {{url|https://www.whitehouse.gov}}
}}
[[Image:TinaHagerChinaRoom.jpg|right|thumb|250px|A [[George Washington (Ceracchi)|marble bust of George Washington]] by sculptor [[Giuseppe Ceracchi]] (1751–1801) receives conservation work in the [[China Room]].]]

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]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Hail to the Chief Curator |url=https://www.whitehousehistory.org/hail-to-the-chief-curator |website=White House Historical Association |access-date=20 January 2022 |language=en}}</ref>

The office began in 1961 during the administration of [[John F. Kennedy|President John F. Kennedy]] while [[First Lady]] [[Jacqueline Kennedy]] oversaw the restoration of the White House.<ref>{{cite web|title=Curator's Office|url=http://www.whitehousemuseum.org/floor0/curators-office.htm|publisher=The White House Museum}}</ref> 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 [[White House Chief Usher|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.<ref>{{Cite web |last=House |first=The White |date=2024-05-02 |title=White House Announces Appointment of New Curator |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/05/02/white-house-announces-appointment-of-new-curator/ |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=The White House |language=en-US}}</ref>

==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 [[Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library|Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum]].

==Curators of the White House==
[[File:White House Curator office.png|right|thumb|250px|White House Ground Floor showing location of the Office of the Curator.]]
To date, eight curators have served in the White House; they are:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! {{Abbr|No.|Number}}
! Image
! width=150|Name<br /><small>(Birth–Death)</small>
! colspan=1|Term of office
! President(s)
|-
| colspan=6 align=center|''Post established in 1961''
|-
! 1
| || [[Lorraine Waxman Pearce]]<br />(<small>1934–2017</small>) || 1961–1962 || [[John F. Kennedy]]
|-
! 2
| || [[William Voss Elder III]]<br />(<small>1932–2014</small>) || 1962–1963 || [[John F. Kennedy]]
|-
! 3
| || [[James R. Ketchum]]<br />(<small>1939–</small>) || 1963–1969 || [[John F. Kennedy]]<br />[[Lyndon B. Johnson]]<br />[[Richard Nixon]]
|-
! 4
| [[File:JFKWHP-KN-C19433 (cropped).jpg|80px]] || [[Clement Conger]]<br />(<small>1912–2004</small>) || 1970–1986 || [[Richard Nixon]]<br />[[Gerald Ford]]<br />[[Jimmy Carter]]<br />[[Ronald Reagan]]
|-
! 5
| [[File:Rex Scouten and Ted Graber.jpg|80px]] || [[Rex Scouten]]<br />(<small>1924–2013</small>) || 1986–1997 || [[Ronald Reagan]]<br />[[George H. W. Bush]]<br />[[Bill Clinton]]
|-
! 6
| || [[Betty C. Monkman]] || 1997–2002 || [[Bill Clinton]]<br />[[George W. Bush]]
|-
! 7
| || [[William G. Allman]]<br />(<small>1952–</small>) || 2002–2017 || [[George W. Bush]]<br />[[Barack Obama]]<br />[[Donald Trump]]
|-
! 8
| || [[Lydia Tederick]]<br />(<small>1955–</small>) || 2017–2024 || [[Donald Trump]]<br />[[Joe Biden]]
|-
|'''9'''
|
|Donna Hayashi Smith
|2024 - Present
|[[Joe Biden]]
|-
|
|}

==See also==
* [[Art in the White House]]
* [[Committee for the Preservation of the White House]]
* [[White House Historical Association]]

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==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==
* [https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/government/allman-bio.html White House website biography of curator William G. Allman]

{{Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis}}
{{White House|state=expanded}}

{{EOP agencies}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Curator, White House of the}}
[[Category:White House]]
[[Category:White House Executive Residence Operations]]
[[Category:Rooms in the White House]]
[[Category:White House Curators|*]]
[[Category:Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis]]