Washington Winter Show 2012

35 Presidential china also became important as a part of presi- dents’ legacies. Not every president adopted an official china pattern, but Lydia Hayes, wife of President Rutherford B. Hays (1877–88), commissioned Theodore R. Davis, a renowned American illustrator, to design images of American flora and fauna for a state service to be manufactured by Havilland & Co., Limoges, France. 11 Each unique piece was decorated with a different North American animal and landscape. This se- ries, remarkable for its artistic design, was also made available for public purchase; its popularity, again, signified the White House’s influence on popular culture. Architectural elements from the White House also became collectible. When interior modifications were made, fragments of architecture were salvaged. Among these were the pilasters installed during the Ulysses S. Grant administration (1869– 1877) [Figure 8]. President Grant wanted the East Room changed to reflect the more up-to-date “New Grecian” style; classically-inspired adaptations of interior architecture, includ- ing the pilasters, were added. A few decades later, President Theodore Roosevelt (1901- 1909) decided that the White House interiors should reflect the more reserved, classically-based aesthetic of ancient Greece and Rome, in keeping with the original structure as he under- stood it. Accordingly, in 1902 the legendary architecture and design firm of McKim, Mead & White removed the Victo- rian-era décor accumulated since the mid-nineteenth century and conformed the state rooms to the new president’s taste. Upon the completion of the project, Roosevelt pronounced the White House “without and within literally the ideal home for the head of a great [d]emocratic republic.” 12 The Grant pilas- ters, four of which are part of the loan exhibit, were removed and became the property of a private owner. Now free-stand- ing columns, they became sculptural treasures for their owner. Another object, no longer functional, yet maintaining great value as a White House relic to its owner, is a remnant of the property’s perimeter fence which had been installed during the Theodore Roosevelt administration. Amidst a great storm in the early 1960s, a section of the fence was detached by a fallen tree. It was stored by the National Park Service. White House Curator Lorraine Pearce found the stored fence fragment and suggested that First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy give the finials away as gifts. Mrs. Kennedy was not inclined to do so, but the pieces were somehow later distributed and have been found in private collections. 13 Their significance as pieces of the presi- dential estate helped to make them desirable and cherished objects. It is safe to say that a piece of a broken fence from any other American home would not be so highly treasured. Other collectibles simply feature the White House image. This page is sponsored by Mrs. William Joseph Curtin, Mrs. Dynes Langhorn Leitch and Mrs. Malcolm Matheson