White House, Oval Office, Richard Nixon

Artist/Designer: Richard Nixon

Project Location: Washington, D.C., United States

Style/Period(s):
Modern

Primary Material(s):
Textile

Function(s):
Workplace, Residential Structure

Related Website(s):

Significant Date(s):
1969, 1970

Additional Information:
According to Julie Iovine's article "The Nation; Oval Office: Room With a Hue," featured in The New York Times "The décor of the Oval Office -- represents each president's stab at a personal statement. And like beige socks showing beneath navy blue trousers, some of the furnishings and color choices reveal a little too much about the man behind the big desk." Each and every interior design choice reflects the president directly, whether it's Trump, Obama, or President Nixon.

The 37th President of the United States Richard Nixon arrived in the White House after President Lyndon B. Johnson.* After his inauguration into the White House Nixon began to immediately change the interior design of the White House with the help of First Lady Pat Nixon and the interior decorator Sarah Jackson Doyle. Unlike some of his predecessors, such as Kennedy, Nixon chose to use the office more as a ceremonial space where he would give addresses, greet guests, and give his decision for his resignation from office. For Nixon the Oval Office is especially symbolic of the rise and fall of his presidency.

Of particular significance within the Oval Office for Nixon were the design choices and objects that were chosen to represent his presidency. For Nixon's color palette he chose a deep blue and a sunbeam gold. In fact gold is everywhere within Nixon's Oval Office, not only is it on the drapes, but it is also found on the sofa and the chair cushions. The Oval Office was washed over with gold. The dark blue and bright gold colors might be emblematic of Nixon's home state California. The color of electric gold has been used as an adornment and enhancement since antiquity in interior design. Gold is used not only for its aesthetics and splendor but also for its versatility.

Throughout Nixon's decoration, he rotated three different portraits of the first president of the United States George Washington besides the mantelpiece. Each new inclusion of a portrait of Washington whether it was created by renowned artists Peale or Stuart displays Nixon's understanding of America's democratic beginnings. Other notable pieces such as the prominent placement of the Earthrise Photograph suggest Nixon's positive regard for the Apollo Project, NASA, and space exploration.

To a large extent, Nixon's renovation of the Oval Office was meant to employ an artistic interpretation of America's democratic history. Pat Nixon and the current curator's aims were to create a highly curated space which was emblematic of a man who knew his nation's history. Neither Pat nor the curator, nor have any previous presidents wanted to turn the White House into a museum frozen in time. When the first lady passed away in 1993 The Washington Post reported "[Mr's Nixon “restore[d] the White House to its golden age” and left “as one of her legacies a more historically accurate, and perhaps a more American, White House.”

Significant Objects in Nixon's Oval Office:
Paintings:
-George Washington by Gilbert Stuart
-George Washington by Rembrandt Peale
-George Washington by Charles Willson Peale
-The President's House, copy after William Henry Bartlett

Sculpture:
-Bust of Abraham Lincoln by Leo Cherne

Miscellaneous Ephemera, Objects, and Furniture:
-Earthrise Photograph
-Bird figurines by Edward Marshall Boehm
-Wilson Desk
-Steuben glass star emblazoned with the presidential seal

*Nixon previously served as Vice President of the United States under Dwight D. Eisenhower

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