A First Look at President Joe Biden’s Oval Office

 SEE ALSO: https://tweedlandthegentlemansclub.blogspot.com/2017/02/jackie-fim-stephane-boudin-jacqueline.html

A First Look at President Joe Biden’s Oval Office

The newly-inaugurated president pays tribute to numerous historical figures through his office decor.

 

BY MARY ELIZABETH ANDRIOTIS

JAN 21, 2021

https://www.housebeautiful.com/design-inspiration/a35272354/president-joe-biden-oval-office-white-house/

 

On January 20th, Joe Biden became the 46th President of the United States—and given that he wasted no time carrying out his presidential duties on Inauguration Day, it should come as no surprise that he already has a newly-redecorated Oval Office as his workspace. While the inauguration was underway, this historic room (and the rest of the White House) was treated to a makeover, with many furnishings being removed and replaced to suit the president’s vision for his new backdrop. After all, if there’s one thing many of us have learned from spending more time at home during the pandemic, it’s the importance of truly making a room your own.

 

The most noticeable—and telling—amendment made to the Oval Office at President Biden’s request is the plethora of artwork that pays tribute to those who came before him. This includes portraits of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton, and busts of Rosa Parks, Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr., Daniel Webster, Cesar Chavez, and Robert F. Kennedy. This decorating choice reflects Biden’s admiration for and willingness to learn from history—after all, he double majored in history and political science as an undergraduate student at the University of Delaware.

 

Of course, President Biden is not one to make choices solely based on aesthetics, so it’s hardly out of scope to presume that his artwork selections have a deeper meaning. Hanging above the Resolute desk (which has now been used by eight presidents in total, beginning with John F. Kennedy, and more recently used by Barack Obama and Donald Trump) is a portrait of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Similar to President Biden’s plans to help the U.S. overcome a difficult time in history due to the COVID-19 pandemic, FDR led this country amidst the Great Depression and World War II. In the same vein, the painting of Benjamin Franklin is said to illustrate Biden’s belief in the importance of science, something that is especially paramount in the age of a pandemic.

 

A Trump-era portrait that has since been removed was one of President Andrew Jackson, who was a proponent of slavery (and an owner of enslaved people himself). Jackson also signed the Indian Removal Act, which forced over 46,000 Native Americans out of their homeland. This choice of artwork came under scrutiny following a November 2017 event in which then-President Trump honored Navajo Code Talkers who served in World War II, with this portrait on the wall right behind them.

 

It should also be noted that the close proximity of the portraits of political rivals Jefferson and Hamilton in President Biden’s Oval Office was no accident—this was meant to emphasize the urgency of overcoming political differences in times of strife.

 

Suffice it to say, it seems like Biden is looking to the furnishings of his new Oval Office as a source of inspiration in challenging moments, and as a way to honor both his predecessors and other notable American figures.

 

Beyond (or rather, just below) the artwork of Biden’s Oval Office is a piece of decor that is noticeably more vibrant than its predecessor: a rich royal blue rug that was last seen in this room during the Clinton administration. This decor decision is a stark contrast from the Trump-era Oval Office, which had a predominantly neutral color palette, mainly made up of beige and other muted hues. It’s possible that this rug was chosen, at least in part, because blue is the color that is most often associated with the Democratic Party. There are now just four remnants from the Trump Oval Office: a gray damask wallpaper selected by Trump himself, the Resolute desk, gold drapes that were first used by Bill Clinton, and a pair of cream, patterned couches, which were originally part of George W. Bush’s Oval Office.

 

Given that President Biden only just moved into the White House yesterday—and the move-in process had to take place in under five hours—it is likely that more decor changes will soon be made to the Oval Office and other rooms in the People’s House. We'll keep you posted!

 

What does Joe Biden's Oval Office makeover reveal about the new US president?

Thursday 21 January 2021, 10:45pm

https://www.itv.com/news/2021-01-21/what-does-joe-bidens-oval-office-makeover-reveal-about-the-new-us-president

 

New presidents usually redecorate the historic room to reflect their own tastes as well as the type of leader they want to be - or at least want to be seen as being.

 

Some of the changes are purely cosmetic, such as different rugs (a dark blue one replaces Donald Trump's choice), curtains and wallpaper.

But the makeover of the US president's formal working space in the West Wing of the White House is far more than just aesthetic - Mr Biden's touches are a signal to world of the man he is - and serve to distance him further from Mr Trump.

 

The Winston Churchill bust brought back in by Mr Trump after it was removed by Barack Obama (a move which prompted the then foreign secretary Boris Johnson to accuse the 44th president of an "ancestral dislike of the British Empire"), has once again been put back in storage.

 

Instead, Mr Biden has chosen busts of iconic civil rights leaders, founding fathers and former presidents.

 

Alongside these leading figures from history that have shaped America, Mr Biden - who as former vice president to Mr Obama knows this room well - has added personal touches, including a table adorned with family photos.

 

The family photos

 Portraits of Mr Biden's family adorn a table, including a photo of his late son Beau Biden who died of a brain tumour in 2015.

 

Nested among the portraits is a bust of Latin American civil and labour rights leader Cesar Chavez.

 

The busts

 Mr Biden has chosen to exhibit powerful figures in the civil rights movement in his Oval Office, with busts of Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks prominently displayed. There are also sculptures of activists Robert Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt, as well as one of the Chiricahua Apache Tribe.

 

A rock from the Moon sits on a shelf in the office. It is not clear how Joe Biden came across this bit of the Moon, but - as the first nation to reach the Moon - this lump of rock is a symbol of America's power, ambition and endeavours.

 

The desk

 One item that has lived on is the Resolute Desk - one of six available for US presidents to choose from. The desk - built from oak used in the British Arctic exploration ship HMS Resolute - appears to transcend personal taste and political divides and was the choice of both Mr Trump and Mr Obama.

 

The portraits

 Mr Biden has notably removed a portrait of Andrew Jackson - censured and fellow populist 19th-century president - that once hung in his predecessor's Oval Office.

 

It has been replaced with Benjamin Franklin, that, according to the Washington Post, is intended to signal the 46th President's interest in science (something that Mr Trump was not well know for).

 

There now also hangs a portrait of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and paintings of founding fathers Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton hanging side by side; the pair had very different ideologies and frequently disagreed, but still forged a partnership.