Committee for the Preservation of the White House
The Committee for the Preservation of the White House is an advisory group that helps protect and present the White House, the president’s official home and workplace. Members are appointed by the president for their knowledge of historic preservation, architecture, decorative arts, and related scholarship.
The committee was created in 1964 by President Lyndon B. Johnson to replace a temporary White House Furnishings Committee that First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy had set up during the White House restoration (1961–1963). It sets policies for the White House’s museum functions, its state rooms, and its collections. It also helps decide acquisitions for the permanent White House collection and advises on changes to the principal rooms on the ground floor, state floor, and historic guest suites on the residence floor.
Ex officio members include the White House curator, the chief usher, the secretary of the Smithsonian, the chair of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, and the director of the National Gallery of Art. The director of the National Park Service serves as chair, and the First Lady is the honorary chair.
In February 2010, Michael S. Smith was appointed to the committee, and his Oval Office makeover was revealed in August 2010.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 15:36 (CET).