Visitors to America’s most famous residence — 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue — will experience a place most strongly influenced, still to this day, by first lady Patricia Nixon, for it was Mrs. Nixon who was responsible for the largest acquisition of antiques and furnishings in the White House collection, as well as converting the Executive Mansion into a museum experience that welcomes about a million visitors every year.
The impact of Mrs. Nixon — who died 25 years ago, on this day, in 1993 — on the White House and its collections are often times overlooked. Her better publicized achievements — which include traveling to more than 80 countries, becoming the first sitting first lady to visit a combat zone, addressing another nation’s parliament, and conferring solo with foreign leaders on diplomatic matters — tend to overshadow her role in the extensive acquisition of art and antiques, and the redecoration of the White House.
In 1970, Mrs. Nixon, along with the Committee for the Preservation of the White House and White House curator Clement Conger, implemented a massive fundraising campaign to pay for the refurbishment of the White House. This historic undertaking resulted in her expanding the White House’s collection of authentic antiques by one-third during her tenure — more than any first lady before her or since, and all paid for with private funds.
She successfully secured more than 600 pieces of art, furniture, chandeliers, notable examples of China services from past administrations, and rugs. Mrs. Nixon and her team refurnished the Red, Green, and Blue Rooms in the highest quality of American decorative arts from the early 1800s. When you think of the iconic art now synonymous with the White House, you can thank Mrs. Nixon for acquiring them, from the Shikler paintings of President John F. Kennedy with his arms crossed, which hangs on the State Floor, and of Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy standing in her apartment, which hangs in the Vermeil Room; to the “Bronco Buster” bronze by Remington — still in the Oval Office since its 1973 purchase — and the President Teddy Roosevelt as a Rough Rider by Tade Styka in the Roosevelt Room.
At a recent White House social dinner in honor of the White House Historical Association, I stood in the Red Room and looked up at the 1804 Dolley Madison portrait, then looked directly down the pocket doors through the Blue and Green Rooms into the East Room where the other Gilbert Stuart masterpiece of President George Washington hangs. In that moment, I was reminded of something I once heard: “Dolley Madison saved George Washington, but Patricia Nixon saved Dolley Madison.” Mrs. Nixon regarded the Madison portrait as her most important acquisition for the White House.
Mrs. Nixon understood the White House was not just a residence, but also a museum. In addition to beautifying the White House, she wanted the home accessible to everyone. Almost 20 years before the Americans with Disabilities Act, Mrs. Nixon had wheelchair ramps installed, and instituted special tours for the blind and hearing impaired, sometimes personally giving these special tours.
Knowing the public was just as curious about the outside of the White House as they were of the inside, Pat Nixon also began the tradition that still happens today of opening up the White House South Lawn for spring and autumn garden tours. She started evening tours, and candlelight tours during the holidays. She is credited with introducing more holiday customs — many of which first lady Melania Trump continues today — than any of her predecessors. Mrs. Nixon and the National Park Service created dramatic outdoor lighting systems to keep the White House aglow at night. She also started the tradition of flying the U.S. flag above the residence at all hours, to ensure a memorable visual for people unable to visit inside.
Patrick Phillips-Schrock in The Nixon White House Redecoration and Acquisition Program wrote that Mrs. Nixon, Conger, and his designer Ed Jones “…would transform the White House so completely that the transitory nature of the State Rooms vanished. Their designs reign supreme to this day, a remarkable feat in the long history of White House decor…”
With today marking the 25th anniversary of Mrs. Nixon’s passing, I hope all Americans have the opportunity to visit the White House and see the art and antiquities she helped secure. When you do, pause and remember her, and join me in thanking her.
Jennifer Boswell Pickens is a White House East Wing historian with an expertise in White House traditions, social events and first ladies. She is a highly sought-after speaker, and author of two books, Christmas at the White House and Pets at the White House. Follow Jennifer on Twitter at @JenniferPickens.
