When first lady Jacqueline Kennedy came to the White House in 1961, she found the executive mansion poorly maintained and lacking in any furnishings from the previous century. She wasted no time in appointing the first White House curator, and in forming the Fine Arts Committee for the White House to procure furniture and artwork that was either owned by previous presidents, or representative of particular periods in the building’s history. She was careful to insure the public understood that this was not a matter of decorating to her tastes, but an effort to honor American history and craftsmanship, saying: “It would be sacrilege to merely redecorate it—a word I hate. It must be restored, and that has nothing to do with decoration. That is a question of scholarship.”

After completing the historic renovations, Mrs. Kennedy commissioned artist Edward Lehman (American, 1914-2000) to create a series of watercolors of the restored White House interiors. Prints of the original watercolors were produced as Christmas gifts for the White House staff during the Kennedy administration.

Each of our limited edition prints of Lehman’s original watercolors have been signed and numbered by the artist, and are handsomely matted and framed to showcase the lush details of the interiors pictured. Only 1000 prints of each room were produced, and of those, we have a limited supply remaining. Each framed print measures 21 by 24.5 inches.