Jacqueline Kennedy showing off one of James Monroe's French Empire Candelabras in the Blue Room (1961). Photo: JFK Library.
The White House and French Decor
“In 2003, during their bitter confrontation over war in Iraq, Secretary of State Colin Powell reassured France’s distraught ambassador to the United States, among others, by reminding him that America and France had been through 200 years of “marriage counseling, but the marriage...is still strong,” an analysis that was widely appreciated and brought not the shortest pause in the exchange of diplomatic fire.”
A Brief Introduction : Washington and La Fayette
The Marquis de La Fayette, "hero of two worlds," is the symbol of French aid during the American Revolution. When he was still seventeen, he overheard the King of England's brother complaining about an insurgents' uprising in the American Colonies. By the time he was nineteen, he had armed a ship with his own money, against the French King's orders, and had sailed off to help the insurgents. Although tremendously wealthy, he was still a minor and used an older friend to bypass age restrictions on purchasing a warship and 6000 rifles. He arrived in America in June of 1777, was wounded at Brandywine, shared the hardships of Valley Forge, and played important roles in many other battles until returning to France in early 1779.
La Fayette's punishment for disobeying the King's orders was to spend eight days on house arrest in his Parisian mansion. Later in 1779, La Fayette named his son "George Washington de La Fayette." The Hero of Two Worlds returned to America again in early 1780 to continue fighting, and remained Washington's life long friend after the war.
Siege of Yorktown, by Louis Charles Auguste Couder. General Rochambeau points to the left, ordering the final attack. Washington stands tallest wearing a navy hat. Lafayette, hatless, is just behind Washington to the right.
Jennie Brownscombe's early 20th century painting, Washington Greeting Lafayette at Mount Vernon, 1784
After the American Revolution, many Americans cultivated a taste for the goods offered by their most important ally – France. George Washington encouraged this trend by furnishing the first executive residences with French goods purchased from the departing French legation, the Count of Moustiers, in 1790. Much of this furniture perished when the White House was burned in 1814, but some of Washington's personal pieces are still on display at Mount Vernon today.
The Marquis de La Fayette's favorite chair, a gift from his grandson to Mount Vernon. Photo: Mountvernon.org
One of the Louis XVI period neoclassical armchairs purchased by Washington from the Count of Moustiers. Photo: Mountvernon.org
George Washington shaved every day for the last decade of his life at this French neoclassical dressing table. (One of the few items originally purchased from the Count of Moustiers that was not in the White House when it burned during the War of 1812). After his Presidency, Washington took this piece to his private home.
George Washington's French Louis XVI period neoclassical dressing table. The inside of the mahogany top reveals a mirror and a marble counter. The lid is topped with leather and can be used as a writing table when closed. Photo: Mountvernon.org
James Monroe
The next great American politician to solidify a national trend for French furniture and decor was Fifth President of the United States, James Monroe. During his time as Ambassador to France from 1794-1797, he lived in an elegant Parisian house, the current site of a pizzeria just a few blocks away from the Moulin Rouge. Parisians coveted invitations from the Monroes who were considered heres of the American Revolution. Mrs. Monroe considered their time in Paris to be the happiest years of her life. The Monroe Doctrine Desk, upon which the famous legislation was written, is the most famous piece of furniture the Monroes brought back from France.
The Monroe Doctrine Desk. A late 18th century neoclassical "Secrétaire-à-abbatant." Photo: James Monroe Museum.
Hidden Compartments
Fall front desks are known for secret compartments, and the Monroe Doctrine desk was no exception. When the desk underwent repairs after Monroe's grandson climbed onto the writing surface and broke it, a hidden cache of the former President's correspondences with Franklin, Washington, La Fayette, and the like was discovered.
James Monroe's "commode" or chest of drawers circa 1795. Photo Credit: James Monroe Museum.
First Lady, Lou Hoover, sitting at one of several copies of the Monroe Doctrine Desk she commissioned.
"Console Deserte" and Chest of Drawers
The two pieces pictured below are of identical style as the Monroe Doctrine Desk, and were part of the same collection of French furniture the Monroes brought back to the United States in 1797. Although the chest could have served in a dining room or bedroom, the "Console Desert" is a side table uniquely for the dining room. Each piece sports a marble top lined with a perforated brass rail, and fluted
James Monroe's dining room side table, circa 1795. Photo Credit: James Monroe Museum.
"Articles of the best kind, on the best terms,"
Such was James Monroe's stated goal for refurnishing the White House in 1817. Monroe's choices reflected his vision for the growing prestige and power of the Nation, while causing him a great deal of discomfort and financial distress. The late Empire period gilt wood chairs below are part of a series Monroe ordered from France, the bill of which was double the White House furniture budget.
Gilt wood chairs as they appear restored today. Part of a grand series including a sofa, originally for the blue room. Photo Credit: French Embassy.
One of the Bellangé chairs in black and white as it appeared in the 1960s during the Kennedy Administration. Photo Credit: JFK Library.
Pierre-Antoine Bellangé was the French master cabinetmaker who designed and made the gilt wood furniture featured above and below. Nine chairs, a couch, and one pier table remain in the White House today. Monroe's agents in France who acquired these pieces wrote concerning price; "we are very sorry that we have not been able to confine ourselves within the limits allowed by Your Excellency."
This pier table, as well as the chairs and sofa, were decorated with carvings of olive sprigs and not the eagles requested by President Monroe. Photo: White House Historical Association
Jacqueline Kennedy
Until the Kennedy Administration, many of these near original White House pieces had been sold or had fallen into disrepair. Jacqueline Kennedy bought back and restored as many orignal pieces as possible, her legacy becoming that the White House would be a museum. Her strategy revolved around tracking down Monroe's French furniture, ordering copies, and furnishing her spaces with other French pieces from the same period. In her own life, she was a true collector of antique French furniture, and it can be spotted in most of her photos with JFK, whether at the White House or in their private spaces.
Kennedy White House Lunch.
Lunch with the Kennedys includes a series of French neoclassical furniture from the last quarter of the 18th century. Jame's Monroe's "console desserte"can be seen, albeit in black and white, behind JFK. Another larger mahogany French dining room side table is up against the wall behind the first lady. Caned and lacquered Louis XVI, probably period, chairs and an armchair are stationed around the table and up against the walls.
The First Family posing in the Yellow Oval Room, two French 18th century armchairs pushed to the right. Photo Credit: JFK Library.
Jacqueline Kennedy's Yellow Oval Room, featuring predominantly French Louis XVI period furniture; a suite of four armchairs (each pair divided by a small French table) and a corresponding couch. Several other French 18th century pieces are partially visible throughout the room. Photo Credit: Tom Leonard.
A "chiffonnière" chest of drawers in Kennedy's Yellow Room. Photo Credit: JFK Library.
A Continued Tradition
The precedent President Monroe set to strive for "articles of the best kind" has been honored by first families ever since, especially since the Kennedy Era. Collecting French furniture is as much a White House tradition as it is a passion of private enthusiasts, one that expresses an understanding of our Nation's roots and original alliance with France.
Former President Obama sitting in one of Monroe's early 19th century Bellangé made armchairs. A French Empire style roundtable with a white marble top fixes the center of the room, and more chairs of Monroe's original series are visible against the walls.
The most recent First Ladies meet in the White House private residence, sitting in two French neoclassical period armchairs. Two Louis XVI commodes can be seen against the walls at each side of the image. Photo Credit: The New York Times.