White House Historical Association

Well, I'm Leslie Greene Bowman, as you kindly mentioned, and I've devoted my career to museum work specializing in American art or American history.

This book was actually initiated by the White House Historical Association to commemorate the United States' 250th anniversary by celebrating the White House Fine Arts Collection with a new book.

Well, they turned to me and invited me to write it, I guess because of my background and possibly because I served on the Committee for the Preservation of the White House for really 30 years under five presidencies.

So it's that committee was originally established by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and That's the committee that to this day advises on collections and new acquisitions.

So you can sort of see how Jackie got this major project rolling and got it over a tipping point.

And then other administrations were really helping to amplify that work.

in large part because maybe the third and maybe most important thing she did, and I think they're all equally important, but she set up an organization that could continue to fund the work because money was always the problem, right? So she made sure there was expertise with a curator, but she established the White House Historical Association as a private nonprofit that would publish the collection that would promote it with education would help protect it and would raise funds to continue to acquire great american art

and and what i love is that all of these themes

Well, I'm Leslie Greene Bowman, as you kindly mentioned, and I've devoted my career to museum work specializing in American art or American history.

This book was actually initiated by the White House Historical Association to commemorate the United States' 250th anniversary by celebrating the White House Fine Arts Collection with a new book.

Well, they turned to me and invited me to write it, I guess because of my background and possibly because I served on the committee for the preservation of the White House for really 30 years under five presidencies.

So it's that committee was originally established by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.

So you can sort of see how Jackie got this major project rolling and got it over a tipping point.

And then other administrations were really helping to amplify that work.

In large part because maybe the third and maybe most important thing she did, and I think they're all equally important, but she set up an organization that could continue to fund the work because money was always the problem, right? So she made sure there was expertise with a curator, but she established the White House Historical Association as a private nonprofit organization.

that would publish the collection, that would promote it with education, that would help protect it, and would raise funds to continue to acquire great American art.

Well, I'm Leslie Greene Bowman, as you kindly mentioned, and I've devoted my career to museum work specializing in American art or American history.

This book was actually initiated by the White House Historical Association to commemorate the United States' 250th anniversary by celebrating the White House Fine Arts Collection with a new book.

Well, they turned to me and invited me to write it, I guess because of my background and possibly because I served on the Committee for the Preservation of the White House for really 30 years under five presidencies.

So it's that committee was originally established by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and That's the committee that to this day advises on collections and new acquisitions.

So you can sort of see how Jackie got this major project rolling and got it over a tipping point.

And then other administrations were really helping to amplify that work.

In large part because maybe the third and maybe most important thing she did, and I think they're all equally important, but she set up an organization that could continue to fund the work because money was always the problem, right? So she made sure there was expertise with a curator, but she established the White House Historical Association as a private nonprofit organization.

that would publish the collection, that would promote it with education, that would help protect it, and would raise funds to continue to acquire great American art.

Well, I'm Leslie Greene Bowman, as you kindly mentioned, and I've devoted my career to museum work, specializing in American art or American history.

This book was actually initiated by the White House Historical Association to commemorate the United States' 250th anniversary by celebrating the White House Fine Arts Collection with a new book.

Well, they turned to me and invited me to write it, I guess because of my background and possibly because I served on the Committee for the Preservation of the White House for really 30 years under five presidencies.

So it's that committee.

That comes into the collection during the Reagan administration, but it's already been on loan there for a while, and it's a four-foot spectacular tableau of the Rocky Mountains.

And of course, before photography, Bierstadt was providing Americans with these glorious views of the Rockies in the West, and most Americans had never seen and had no way of understanding the um splendor of the american continent this painting is utterly arresting and it usually hangs in the um the red room and of course there was thomas moran who was sent out literally with a geological expedition to yellowstone to document it but it's his paintings of yellowstone that are used to persuade congress that they need to protect yellowstone as a national park and it's mrs johnson who um Recorded those landscapes the first landscapes of the Tetons and the Rockies are thanks to the Johnson administration so you could sort of see how Jackie got this major project rolling and got it over a tipping point and and then other administrations were really helping to amplify that work in large part because the maybe the third and maybe most important thing she did and I'm I think they're all equally important.

But she set up an organization that could continue to fund the work because money was always the problem, right? So she made sure there was expertise with a curator, but she established the White House Historical Association as a private nonprofit that would publish the collection, that would promote it with education, that would help protect it, and would raise funds to continue to acquire great American art.

And what I love is that all of these themes...

comments on this.

And then they gave me the seating arrangement and we were at the top table with the president of the White House Historical Association.

Not the president himself.

Not the president himself, the president didn't attend this, but it's an arm of the White House that cares for all the history of the White House.