CO-HOST MATT PORTER: The JFK35 Podcast is produced by the JFK Library Foundation and made possible with the help of a generous grant from the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation.
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CO-HOST JAMIE RICHARDSON: When Jacqueline Kennedy moved into the White House in January 1961, she was disappointed in the condition of such an important and historical building. Despite some opposition, though, she began a large ambitious project to restore the White House to its original grandeur. Perhaps the most visible result of her work was her 1962 tour of the White House on national television, which won her a special Emmy award, making Mrs. Kennedy the only first lady to receive such an honor.
But just as important were the steps she took 60 years ago to ensure the future maintenance and preservation of the White House. More about that on this episode of JFK35.
JOHN F KENNEDY: And so my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.
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JAMIE RICHARDSON: Hello, I'm Jamie Richardson. And welcome to JFK35. Shortly after moving into the White House, Jacqueline Kennedy set upon the idea of making the White House what she called the first house of the land. Just as her husband John F Kennedy was a Student of history, Mrs. Kennedy was too. They both believed that learning from the past could help solve the problems of the present.
In that vein, she wanted the White House to be a place to inspire and educate everyone who came to visit, from dignitaries on official business to families visiting on a tour. Today, the idea of preserving the White House and having an official guidebook are things we can take for granted. But some people in the administration were worried that making substantial changes to the president's home would attract criticism or come off as elitist. And selling a guidebook for the White House would be seen as crass commercialism.
Nevertheless, The First Lady embarked on what Life Magazine called a dusty, but fascinating, adventure. As she searched within the White House itself for representative pieces that reflected the house's historic and evolving nature. To support her ongoing work to restore and maintain the White House, she founded the White House Historical Association in November 1961. Since then, it has collaborated with each administration to continue and expand upon the work begun by Mrs. Kennedy. As the organization celebrated its 60th anniversary this November, I spoke with Stewart McLaurin, who has been the President of the Association since 2014.
So I have Stewart McLaurin here with me. Stewart is the President of the White House Historical Association. Welcome, Stewart.
STEWART MCLAURIN: Thank you, Jamie. It's wonderful to be with you.
JAMIE RICHARDSON: And we are excited to have you, because the White House Historical Association is celebrating 60 years this month in November. And this was founded by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in 1961. Can you explain to us a little bit about why she founded it, and what its role is?
STEWART MCLAURIN: Well we will always be indebted to Mrs. Kennedy for her extraordinary leadership to create what is still in place today as the process and the procedure that manages and governs historic preservation, acquisitions, and really maintaining a museum standard at the White House.
You know, Jamie, I marvel all the time that she was 31 years old when her husband was inaugurated president of the United States. And she's First Lady for less than three years, due to the tragic assassination of her husband. But those things that she put in place, including the White House Historical Association, were so instrumental for what she accomplished in that short period of time and what the 11 First Ladies since her have been able to do to take care of this wonderful house that Mrs. Kennedy actually called the People's House.
JAMIE RICHARDSON: And what has been the role of future First Ladies after Jacqueline Kennedy? Have they had their own stamp on it? Or what is their relationship with the association?
STEWART MCLAURIN: Well, we are a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization. And so our role is exactly the same with every presidency. Mrs. Johnson inherited the role by surprise in an unexpected way. And I think she felt a little anxious about taking over the mantle that Mrs. Kennedy had put in place. But she did so brilliantly. And she put her own stamp on some of the rooms. And each First Lady that has followed has done the same.
We will typically take on three to five major projects with each First Lady, some will be a room some will be a refurbishment of a certain suite of furniture. Others will be acquisitions of a large measure. It really varies from presidency to presidency. But the 12 Presidents and First Ladies that we've had the privilege to work with as an organization, the three that I've worked with, the Obamas, the Trumps, and the Bidens, have all been very passionate about the historical integrity of the house and maintaining that Museum standard that Mrs. Kennedy envisioned.
JAMIE RICHARDSON: And did Jacqueline Kennedy-- she left the White House, obviously, very abruptly, maybe not having planned out what she wanted exactly. But did she have-- leave either a mandate or a precedent of how the Association should operate in the future with new incoming Presidents and First Ladies?
STEWART MCLAURIN: She did. I think we could assume that she thought perhaps they would be there for eight years. And it turned out to be less than three. But she frontloaded everything. Everything was put in place, all of the advisors, all of the access, all of the relationships. She did what great American museums do.
She went to collectors. She went to great other-- she went to other great museum heads and sought their advice and counsel, brought in designers and decorators. She was very cautious about using the word redecorating. She did not like that word. She thought that the White House should be cared for and conserved. And it was a national treasure. And it should represent the very best of American artisans, craftsmen, artists, and designers. And that's really what she sought about to do at a very early time.
And Jamie, she put in place, essentially, three things that are still in place today. She hired the very first curator to take care of the art, and the objects, and the furnishings. There had been random people who had served that function. But she put in place that first full-time person who had that role. She created a group, which was not called this at the time, but it has evolved to be what we call today the Committee for the Preservation of the White House.
It's an advisory group of museum heads and cultural leaders that serve each president and first lady as a sounding board when they have ideas of something they want to do in the White House. And then thirdly, we're very proud to be this third entity, and that's the White House Historical Association. And we provide non-taxpayer funding to acquire everything that the White House requires for the collection, or to maintain it. Whether it's recovering a suite of Bellange furniture that we started with Mrs. Obama and completed-- will be completing under Mrs.-- under Dr. Biden, to the tune of about $850,000, an extraordinary investment. But that's non-taxpayer money. We are totally privately funded. And we do that on behalf of the American people.
JAMIE RICHARDSON: That's wonderful. You mentioned working with the First Ladies to get work on acquisitions and other items to bring into the White House. Have there been any kind of your-- over your tenure, any of your favorite or sort of most exciting acquisitions you've come across to bring into the White House?
STEWART MCLAURIN: There are actually two types of acquisitions. Before the Kennedy presidency, a new President could come into office, and they were allowed to disperse or get rid of anything they wanted to. They often acquired new things by selling the old things. They didn't like things that we would appreciate today as antiques or Americana. They wanted something contemporary. There was also no upkeep of the furnishings. So things became very worn and frazzled. And they didn't want those in the White House. Much different scenario today.
So if we have the opportunity to reacquire something for the White House collection that was once in the White House itself, we do that. But there are also acquisitions that relate to Great American art, and artists, and artisans that need to be represented in the White House. I think one of the most recent and best examples of that was our acquisition of the Alma Thomas painting called "Resurrection." It was acquired at the request of First Lady Michelle Obama.
Alma Thomas is the first Black woman artist to have a work in the White House collection. She is from the 1960s Washington Color School. And it's a very vibrant, bright, concentric circles of colored blocks. Initially, it was in the old family dining room. And now it hangs above the mantel in the Vermeil Room. Another recent acquisition, working with Mrs. Trump, was the first Asian-American work of art that's in the White House collection, Isamu Noguchi, who's a sculptor, a Japanese sculptor, actually understand that he is one of Caroline Kennedy's favorite artists, and that work is now in the East End of the Rose Garden. It's a sculpture that is positioned in the outside of the White House, the only such sculpture or work of art in the White House collection that is outside of the interior of the White House itself.
So those are two recent examples. But we collect an array of things. Sometimes, I'll receive a call from the curator and there's a silver spoon from the White House collection in the early 20th century that is on eBay. And so we acquire that. And we get that back in the White House collection. Or someone will have an auction that something has been in a private collection for generations. And we have the opportunity to acquire it. That also happened very recently. So our eyes are always open to return things to their home in the White House or to add to the White House collection great American artists and artisans.
JAMIE RICHARDSON: Your point about adding art from the first Black painter, the first Asian-American sculptor, at Mrs. Kennedy's time, it seems like she was focused on pieces that came from a more specific, very historical time period to reflect the style of the White House at a certain point. And how have you evolved-- it sounds like you're evolving alongside ideas of what we think represents a fuller view of American history and American culture. Could you talk a little bit about that kind of evolution and the ideas behind that?
STEWART MCLAURIN: Well, it has been quite an evolution. Mrs. Kennedy first visited the White House with her mother as a teenager. And I think was concerned about the look and feel of the White House. And then again, after her husband was elected, but before the inauguration, Mrs. Eisenhower invited Mrs. Kennedy to visit the White House, which is customary.
And at that point, she noticed that the White House was literally furnished with New York Department store reproduction furniture. And that was unacceptable to her. We should have the very best of America represented in the White House. And that's what she set about to do. Now, the focus of that work in those beautiful historic state rooms was from the federal period. And she wanted to return works that had originally been in the White House. And of course, those would be from the early decades of our country and of the White House itself.
Over time, as interests, and tastes, and artists have evolved, the White House collection has also done the same. And I mentioned those two works that are more contemporary artists. Traditionally, for a work to be in the White House collection, the collection policy is for the artist to be deceased and for the work itself to be over 25 years of age. So you don't have living artists enhancing the value of their works by proclaiming that their work is in the White House collection. And it keeps a focus on a more historic period, rather than a right now period of time.
The only exceptions, really, to that are the artists who paint the portraits of the Presidents and First Ladies. And we also do that on behalf of the American people. We fund those portraits. And we allow each president and First Lady, as they're leaving office, to select their own portrait artists. And then we fund those and provide them to the White House collection.
JAMIE RICHARDSON: Oh, that's so interesting. I didn't realize that about the portraits. Those are always so interesting to see at the end of the administration.
STEWART MCLAURIN: They are. And the artists are as different in their work as the subject of their portraits. And we are right now working with President and Mrs. Trump on selection of their artist and the execution of their portraits. The Obama portraits, we hope will actually be unveiled at the White House next spring. That will be an exciting moment as well.
But that is a tradition that we have become integrally involved with. And we fund those on behalf of the American people. We also keep it in a very modest fee. We believe it's a privilege for portrait artists to have their work in the White House. So we do not pay the exorbitant market rates of a portrait artist. We ask them to do it at a very modest public service rate.
JAMIE RICHARDSON: And so how often are you or your staff in the White House, it's a place of work for many people. It's a residence where people live as well. How do you balance-- or how do you go in and work amongst all those rooms, and the history, and all the hustle and bustle in the White House?
STEWART MCLAURIN: Well, Jamie, you make a very good point, I think most people don't realize about their own homes, imagine if-- and you probably can imagine during COVID, working from home, but imagine if you work from home, your family lived at your home, but your home was also a museum that a half a million people go through every year. And it's a ceremonial stage upon which our country receives our most important visitors from around the world.
So it is a diverse place, with a lot of activity. Myself and our staff, we're over there frequently, depending on what is happening. This week, we're doing photography for the next issue of our guidebook. And I have to mention that was another project that was begun by Mrs. Kennedy. I mentioned when she went through the White House as a teenager, she was concerned that there was no guidebook, like you get at the Great American museums, like the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
So the first order of business for us was to publish a guidebook, which we did in 1962. And we're now in the 25th edition of that book. And that's gone on to-- lead to the creation of a publishing department that we have. We'll publish four to six books a year. We have an extraordinary quarterly magazine, very substantive on White House history, very visual on White House history.
But we're there frequently, and as much as we need to be there for the work that we carry out. During the public tours of the White House, when those are taking place, we actually have a little sale shop there that sells our books, our publications. And the very famous White House Christmas ornament that we do and we've done every year since 1981, we recently featured the presidential portrait of President Kennedy in that ornament. And this year, we have, not as our official ornament, but as a secondary ornament, a similar ornament with Mrs. Kennedy's portrait featured. So you can go on our website, whitehousehistory.org and get both of those beautiful ornaments with President and Mrs. Kennedy featured.
JAMIE RICHARDSON: Thank you for bringing up the guidebook. I feel like that's one of the other landmarks that Mrs. Kennedy created. Can you talk a little bit about how that gets developed and updated? The first edition, obviously, was under Mrs. Kennedy and the Kennedy White House. And you've had mentioned 25 editions since, kind of how does that evolve? And what goes into updating that every so often?
STEWART MCLAURIN: Well initially, when she had the idea to create a guidebook, President Kennedy was a little reluctant, as were others, about creating something that would be sold commercially. Initially, it was sold for $1. And they were sold out. They couldn't keep them in stock. There was such demand for these. And it did become a staple item for the White House. And it's really the Bible of the White House and its interiors today.
Initially, we did not have the ability to publish ourselves. We partnered with our very good friends at the National Geographic. And the early issues, or early editions, they published. There's a wonderful podcast, my podcast, 1600 Sessions, that I did with the National Geographic telling the story of that very first guidebook and how Mrs. Kennedy was not particularly gifted with patience. And she wanted that guidebook done. She wanted it done right, and well, and now. And there's a wonderful story about how that happened.
But then we developed our own ability to publish over the years. We maintain that guidebook. It's also available digitally on our website. And it's updated every three to four years with new images, new photography, particularly if there's a change in administrations or presidencies. And it's really become a standard of our ongoing and much broader publications work.
JAMIE RICHARDSON: And what are the other publications that you have?
STEWART MCLAURIN: Well, there's really a treasure trove of them. We have them on-- our newest publications are a wonderful book on the history of wine in the White House, and its service, its state dinners, and by Presidents going back to, really, George Washington, who didn't live in the White House, but John Adams, who was the first President who lived there.
I have a recent book on the young Irish born James Hoban, the architect and designer of the White House, which is a wonderful story of a young Irishman who had an American dream of coming and being the most successful he could be in his field. And he was identified by George Washington and selected. And it's remarkable to me, this great story of a man whose name most people do not know, James Hoban, but whose life's work is three words that are known around the world, The White House.
We have a wonderful series of children's books that are just out on traveling with the Presidents, The Presidents at play, young girl, Gigi McBride wrote a book about working in the White-- or visiting the White House when her mother was Chief of Staff to Laura Bush and all the escapades she undertook there. So we have an array of publications from young children through very serious scholarly focused adults who are interested in our work, and levels in between. And again, those are all available on our website whitehousehistory.org.
JAMIE RICHARDSON: Excellent, and then that kind of dovetails into my next question is in the Kennedy administration, you just mentioned that it was a little bit controversial to sell a book about the White House. And now you have this whole arm of publishing, which is excellent. And given also the kind of lack of technological availability in the '60s, and now we have-- you mentioned your podcast, what are other ways that you are engaging with contemporary audiences that are kind of-- was not available when Mrs. Kennedy first envisioned the Association?
STEWART MCLAURIN: Well, I think we all, including the Kennedy Library and Foundation, learned the lesson during COVID of the value of deploying our content much, much more successfully in a digital manner. And we have adopted a number of new programs that are wildly popular. Our History Happy Hour every Thursday night, where a mixologist teaches how to mix a certain cocktail that relates to the speaker that follows that cocktail.
We have a program called White House History Live, which is a monthly program with a terrific speaker. I do my 1600 Sessions podcast. There are about 65 episodes available of that online now. All of our formerly in-person lectures, symposia, conferences are now hybrid. Where we offer them as an in-person experience here at our historic Decatur House, across the street from the White House, or you can watch them online, or through on Facebook Live, or on our YouTube station-- or YouTube channel.
So we're always coming up with new ways to deploy our content. We have a highly successful Teacher Institute, where every summer, teachers from across the country come here to Washington and engage with our historians, and other scholars, and White House staff, current and former, to learn how to teach American history through the prism of the White House and all that has happened there throughout its 221 year history. So there's a limitless way that we now deploy content. Our website is very rich.
We have a wonderful digital library with tens of thousands of images with their metadata. That if you're a student, a teacher, an author, a scholar, or even a movie producer, you can find images related to your field of interest in that digital library on our website.
JAMIE RICHARDSON: That's excellent, yeah, for us, definitely having the ability to be kind of nimble and expand our digital offerings was obviously key. And I do appreciate seeing on our Twitter feed, especially when we notifications pop up from either you or the Association talking about the Kennedy White House and images and whatnot. So it's always delightful to see that.
STEWART MCLAURIN: Well, I can tell you that Mrs. Kennedy and President Kennedy are perhaps the top view like getter on all of our social media. And we do have terrific Facebook, Instagram, Twitter content that would really encourage everybody to follow that. But all of the Kennedy Library, and all of our Presidential Libraries do as well, and I'm a big fan of our Presidential Library system. And the work that the Kennedy Library and the Kennedy Foundation that you do there in Boston has not just a reach in your community, but across the country and around the world.
And I've been privileged to visit there on several occasions. And I think these presidential libraries are just extraordinary outposts of civics education across our country. And if anyone is listening to this has not been to the Kennedy Library or any other Presidential Library, I really encourage you to do so. It's really a very, very important thing to support and to learn from.
JAMIE RICHARDSON: Thank you. I would agree. I haven't had been able to go to all of the libraries yet, but definitely want to when I'm able. And so speaking of, your 60th anniversary is imminent, happening. How are you celebrating 60 years of the Association?
STEWART MCLAURIN: Well, there's so many stories to tell. And essentially, we are storytellers. So we dedicated an issue of our quarterly magazine to the 60th anniversary. Our quarterly lectures this year all had an honoring element related to the 60th anniversary. Our gala in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum of Art will have the First Lady. We're honored that Caroline Kennedy will join us on that occasion. David Rubenstein, who's a wonderful benefactor and the namesake of our David M. Rubenstein National Center for White House History will be there.
We will announce a new partnership with NYU on that occasion. Denyce Greaves, the wonderful soprano from the Metropolitan Opera will be with us that evening. Really excited about that. But that occasion will not only reflect on and celebrate 60 years of achievement and accomplishment, but will also look forward to the opportunities ahead of us. We hope to have an event once the White House is open for such occasions again. We anticipate having an event at the White House to celebrate our role with them over the past 60 years. And many other things that we're doing to celebrate this significant year.
JAMIE RICHARDSON: Excellent, that sounds like a wonderful slate of activities to celebrate the rich history. And one thing you mentioned kind of dovetails into my last question for you, which is what are ideas or plans for the next 60 years.
STEWART MCLAURIN: Well, that is somewhat dependent upon who the Presidents are over that time. I started to say Presidents and First Ladies, but we will soon, I'm certain, have a woman president. And we'll have to figure out that terminology and how we describe that First Spouse or First Partner, whatever that happens to be. But as you look back at all the things that we've accomplished and all the things that we've done, I'm really bullish on the future.
We have a wonderful relationship with every element of the White House we work with, the curators, the Chief Usher's Office, the Social Secretary, the First Lady's staff. And it was really a privilege of ours to take on these projects. Some of them are predictable, like the presidential portraits. Occasionally, we will fund presidential China for the White House and for the American people. But more often than not, the White House, or the First Lady, will come to us with an idea or a concept that will be new, and fresh, and interesting. And we'll be honored to undertake that with them on behalf of the American people.
JAMIE RICHARDSON: Well, sounds like a bright, exciting future ahead. And I thank you for taking your time to speak with us today. And a happy 60th to the Association.
STEWART MCLAURIN: Thank you so much. It's really been an honor to share our story with you and your listeners.
JAMIE RICHARDSON: And thank you for listening to this episode of JFK35, a podcast from the JFK Library Foundation. Visit our podcast page at jfklibrary.org/jfk35, where we will have more information on topics mentioned in this episode. If you have questions or story ideas, email us at jfk35pod@jfklfoundation.org. Or tweet at us @JFKLibrary using the hashtag #JFK35. If you liked what you heard today, please consider subscribing to our podcast or leaving us a review wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you for listening and have a great week.
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December 8, 2021