Edward Lehman's watercolors of Jackie Kennedy's White House

A few years ago I was looking for wall art for the bare wall facing our center hall staircase. I had already purchased a botanical runner from the martha stewart collection. This botanical design was taken from a victorian hooked rug owned by Gael Towey, Chief Creative officer at MSO. I had seen it in her Greenwich Village townhouse while attending a going-away cocktail party for the Chief Information Officer who was my boss. I loved the design and the quality of the original that looked like crewel-work. The Macy's version was just as successful in rendering the quality and vibrant color of the original. 

To complement the flooring I wanted something with green and red tones in the wall art. I came across the Edward Lehman limited edition prints on the website of the JFK Musuem & Library while doing Christmas shopping online. I bought them and we hung them in early November. They are still there awaiting the sale of our home and a new home in here in Atlanta. Who knows where they will end up but I love the idea of watercolor renditions of decorated rooms, not only famous ones. This was a common practice in England. Artists were often commissioned to do renderings of interiors for the great country homes of the gentry and aristocracy.  The practice pre-dated photography but lasted long after color photography was available and is obviously more interesting to hang and view than a photograph. 

From JFK Museum & Library Gift Shop.
 Reproduction watercolor print.
Commissioned by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy.
Limited Edition Print signed and numbered
by Edward Lehman.

Lehman's watercolor of the Green Room was used as the White House Christmas Card, 1963.

Red Room at the Kennedy White House after redecoration

Green Room at the Kennedy White House after redecoration