With a presidential mandate, Wilmerding preserves the past

Since the days of the Carter Administration, John Wilmerding has played a key role on the veritable dream team of art and architecture experts charged with preserving one of the nation's most well-known landmarks.

Wilmerding, a Princeton art history professor and an expert on American art, was asked to join the Committee for the Preservation of the White House while he was working at the National Gallery of Art in the late 1970s.

Since then, he has been reappointed by each succeeding presidential administration, serving as one of the committee's specialists on visual art.

In addition to Wilmerding, a slew of well-known interior decorators, historians, curators, collectors and philanthropists sit on the committee.

During his time on the committee, Wilmerding has advised White House curators and helped plan several major restoration projects.

Betty Monkman, the White House curator since 1997, said Wilmerding has made extremely positive contributions.

"He's got a very astute eye and a lot of common sense. He's been very helpful to us," she said. "And we really enjoy John on a personal level as well. He's extremely talented."

The committee's most recent renovation project focused on refurbishing the look of the White House's "State" floor. Among a range of different tasks, members helped in the project by researching original fabric and furnishing designs that would appropriately reflect the chosen period.

Wilmerding's focus during that renovation was working with much of the hanging art there. Counting off some of the various acquisitions, he seemed clearly pleased with the results of his and other committee members' efforts.

"By the end, we had acquired a fabulous Georgia O'Keefe — a southwestern landscape," he said.

Wilmerding was also involved with reframing a substantial portion of the White House's art collection. "When you put period frames on those pictures, they sing — they really look glorious," he said.

One of Wilmerding's most important responsibilities on the committee is advising in art acquisitions. He guides officials in the curator's office into making what he considers to be wise art purchases.

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"You've got to be careful. Certain dealers hear the words 'White House' and think it's open season," he said. "They'll try to take us to the cleaners."

Nevertheless, working with a substantial purchasing budget and buying for the White House are not tasks Wilmerding regards as chores. "It's a lot of fun," he said.

Much of the money used to make art purchases comes from private donations to a special White House endowment or from funds raised by the White House Historical Association.

Wilmerding said he and the other experts on the committee work to ensure the White House is getting fair deals in acquisitions.

"It's easy to draw the criticism that we're spending taxpayer money," he said. "But with the committee advising on purchases, we can insulate the first family from those decisions."

Time commitment

The committee meets, on average, twice per year. But the members' time commitment is substantially larger than that. Wilmerding said he spent much of one summer doing research for one project.

In addition, from time to time, he must rearrange plans to go to Washington on committee-related business. "I'm of the mind, when the White House calls, you better go," he said.

The White House's preservation committee was founded in 1964 during the Kennedy administration. The committee was first led by Jacqueline Kennedy, who laid the groundwork for gathering funding for a range of refurbishment projects.

Earl Powell, director of the National Gallery of Art, serves on the committee with Wilmerding. He said he expects the committee will continue to play an important role in the future.

"The work we've done has been very important to preserving the appearance and ambience of the White House," Powell said. "In many ways, it's been much like being the trustee of a museum."