Blue Room (White House)
The Blue Room is one of three state parlors on the first floor in the White House, the home of the President of the United States. It is distinct for its oval shape. The room is used for receptions, receiving lines, and is occasionally set for small dinners. It is traditionally decorated in shades of blue. With the Yellow Oval Room above it and the Diplomatic Reception Room below it, the Blue Room is one of three oval rooms in James Hoban's original design for the White House.
The room is approximately 30 feet by 40 feet. It has six doors, which open into the Cross Hall, Green Room, Red Room, and South Portico.
Furnishings
The Blue Room is furnished in the French Empire style, similar to how it appeared shortly after the rebuilding of the White House following its burning by the British on August 25, 1814. A series of redecorating through the nineteenth century caused most of the original pieces to be sold or lost. Today much of the furniture is original to the room. Eight pieces of gilded European beech furniture purchased during the administration of James Monroe furnish the room, including a bergère (an armchair with enclosed sides) and several fauteuils (an open wooden frame arm chair). The suite of furniture was produced in Paris, c. 1812, by the cabinetmaker Pierre-Antoine Bellange. A marble-top center table has been in the White House since it was purchased by Monroe in 1817. A c. 1817 gilded bronze clock with a figure of Hannibal, by Deniére et Matelin sits on the mantel.
The early nineteenth century French chandelier is made of gilded-wood and cut glass, encircled with acanthus leaves. George P. A. Healy's 1859 portrait of John Tyler hangs on the west wall above the Monroe sofa. The sapphire blue fabric used for the draperies and furniture upholstery is similar in color to fabric used in the room in 1800s. The silk upholstery fabric retains the gold eagle medallion on the chair backs which was adapted from the depiction of one of the Monroe-era chairs in a portrait of James Monroe. The painting however depicts the chair upholstered in crimson, not blue, showing the original color used for the room.
Design of the blue satin draperies is derived from early nineteenth century French patterns. The present drapery design is similar to those installed during the administration of Richard Nixon. Clement Conger, White House curator at that time, used archive materials from the Society for the Protection of New England Antiquities and the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Department of Decorative Arts as patterns for the drapery.
The walls are hung with a chamois colored wallpaper imprinted with medallions of burnished gold. It is adapted from an early nineteenth century American Empire wallpaper having French influences. The upper border is a faux printed blue fabric drapery swag. The faux fabric border is similar in effect to an actual fabric border installed during the administration of John F. Kennedy. The printed dado border along the chair rail is blue and gold with rosettes. Installation of a new oval carpet, based on early nineteenth century designs, completed the renovation project. The design was adapted from an original design for a neoclassical English carpet of about 1815, the period of the furnishings acquired by President James Monroe for the Blue Room.
History
The elliptical salon
During the administration of John Adams, the Blue Room served as the south entrance hall. During the administration of James Madison, architect Benjamin Latrobe designed a suite of classical-revival furniture for the room, but the furnishings were destroyed in the fire of 1814 (see War of 1812). When the White House was rebuilt, President James Monroe redecorated the room in the French Empire style, which has remained the style ever since.
Martin Van Buren had the room decorated in blue in 1837, and it has remained the tradition ever since, although each administration renews the decor to one degree or another.
Truman renovation and later refurnishings
The Blue Room was one of many rooms completely gutted and rebuilt during the renovations of the Harry Truman administration. The addition of the Truman Balcony provided shade to the oval portico outside the Blue Room.
The Kennedy administration restoration oversaw the return of several original Monroe era chairs designed by Pierre-Antoine Bellange.
The current appearance of the Blue Room is the result of a renovation and refurbishing completed in 1995 by the Committee for the Preservation of the White House, the White House Office of the Curator, and funded by the White House Endowment Trust.
References and further reading
- Abbott, James A. A Frenchman in Camelot: The Decoration of the Kennedy White House by Stéphane Boudin. Boscobel Restoration Inc.: 1995. ISBN 0-9646659-0-5.
- Abbott James A., and Elaine M. Rice. Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration. Van Nostrand Reinhold: 1998. ISBN 0-442-02532-7.
- Abbott, James A. Jansen. Acanthus Press: 2006. ISBN 0-926494-33-3.
- Clinton, Hillary Rodham. An Invitation to the White House: At Home with History. Simon & Schuster: 2000. ISBN 0-684-85799-5.
- Garrett, Wendell. Our Changing White House. Northeastern University Press: 1995. ISBN 1-55553-222-5.
- Kenny, Peter M., Frances F. Bretter and Ulrich Leben. Honoré Lannuier Cabinetmaker from Paris: The Life and Work of French Ébiniste in Federal New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and Harry Abrams: 1998. ISBN 0-87099-836-6.
- Leish, Kenneth. The White House. Newsweek Book Division: 1972. ISBN 0-88225-020-5.
- Monkman, Betty C. The White House: The Historic Furnishing & First Families. Abbeville Press: 2000. ISBN 0-7892-0624-2.
- Seale, William. The President's House. White House Historical Association and the National Geographic Society: 1986. ISBN 0-912308-28-1.
- Seale, William, The White House: The History of an American Idea. White House Historical Association: 1992, 2001. ISBN 0-912308-85-0.
- West, J.B. with Mary Lynn Kotz. Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies. Coward, McCann & Geoghegan: 1973. SBN 698-10546-X.
- Wolff, Perry. A Tour of the White House with Mrs. John F. Kennedy. Doubleday & Company: 1962.
- Exhibition Catalogue, Sale 6834: The Estate of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis April 23-26, 1996. Sothebys, Inc.: 1996.
- 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 Web site for the Blue Room
- White House Museum's Blue Room page, with many historical pictures