After a major research and restoration effort, the largest and grandest room in George Washington’s Mount Vernon Mansion has reopened with a new look and a new interpretation that brings the room much closer to the way it appeared in Washington’s lifetime.
New Room, New Discoveries
The New Room Reinterpreted
Photos of the New Room after its restoration in 2013-2014.
An Updated Color Scheme
New paint analysis techniques revealed that the original room's color scheme was more complex and sophisticated than previously thought, informed by fashionable English interiors designed by Robert Adam.
Microscopic examination of paint samples by conservator and paint analyst Dr. Susan Buck identified two distinct copper-based pigments: a fine-textured, sea-green verditer on the broad expanses of wallpaper, and a gritty, glossy deep green verdigris, used on the friezes above the doors, the Venetian window panels, and around the top of the wallpaper.
Analysis also revealed that the paint Washington specified as “buff inclining to white” for the wainscot woodwork contained the pigment yellow ochre, resulting in a richer and darker hue than previously shown.
Before
After
Wallpaper and Trim
In addition to the change in interpretation, visitors to the re-opened space will notice differences in its appearance, including a new wallpaper border. A pattern book from the French wallpaper manufacturer, Jean-Baptiste Réveillon, preserved in the collections of Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, revealed a historic pattern that matches two surviving fragments found during earlier restorations of Mount Vernon’s New Room.
This archival pattern enabled Adelphi Paper Hangings to create a more accurate reproduction, with a band of delicate white stripes resembling a comb adding subtle depth and definition to the design. In addition to the border, new verditer green wallpaper was hung in rolls of tipped sheets, a more historically accurate technique.
Window Treatments
The new window treatments follow a description included in Martha Washington’s will. Curtains for the smaller east and west windows are constructed of white-on-white reproduction dimity, with a custom green-gold trim to suggest the appearance of green festoons mentioned in a visitor’s account. These curtains hang from white and gilt cornice boards, replicated from examples that were conveyed to the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association in 1860 with a history of being original to the Mansion.
The great Venetian window will remain bare to better showcase its impressive architectural details. Notably, close examination of its woodwork conducted by Dr. Susan Buck and historic textiles consultant Natalie Larson found no physical evidence of 18th-century holes for attaching curtain hardware.
Cornice and curtains on the New Room's east window.
The New Room Through History
From the time the Association took over operation of Mount Vernon in 1860, the New Room has been home to a variety of furnishings and decorative schemes. Historic photographs reveal how the room's appearance has evolved over more than a century.
History of the New Room
George Washington called the last and grandest addition to the Mansion his “New Room." With its two-story-high ceiling, detailed architectural ornamentation, and stylish furnishings, the New Room intended to convey unpretentious beauty and fine craftsmanship.
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