Kennedy Restoration
Jacqueline Kennedy worked with American antiques expert Henry Francis du Pont and French interior designer Stéphane Boudin on the restoration of the State Dining Room. Du Pont and Boudin both recommended that changes should emphasize the earlier work of McKim. Most of the changes made to the room are still visible today. The silver plate chandelier and wall sconces were gilded, and the sconces formerly mounted on the pilasters were reinstalled in the side panels, bringing more focus to the pilasters. The 1902 mantel was restored during the Kennedy renovation and includes the inscription placed there by Franklin D. Roosevelt, from a letter by John Adams to his wife Abigail written immediately after he first moved into the house in 1800:
| “ | I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this House, and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof. | ” |
McKim's mahogany consoles were painted ivory white and the eagle supports and bowknots gilded; the new color scheme for those pieces were intended to make the pieces blend into the paneling. A new carpet, a copy of one Boudin designed for Leeds Castle was woven and installed. At large dinners the formal horseshoe configured table was replaced with a series of smaller round tables, a tradition that continues today. The portrait of Abraham Lincoln by George P.A. Healy was restored, reversing conspicuous damage. The Chippendale reproduction sidechairs were removed and replaced by the Queen Anne-style chairs by McKim, Mead and White. The gold-damask draperies installed during the Truman administration were retained.
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President John F. Kennedy quoted this passage on the eve of his assassination in Dallas, Texas; recorded in Theodore C. Sorenson’s biography, Kennedy, Epilogue (1965)
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