A Kennedy Christmas

I just about died when I discovered this painting of the White House Christmas tree.  In the early 60s First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy captured the efforts of her historic White House renovation by painting the Blue Room's whimsically decorated Balsam fir. It's said that Jackie began the tradition of selecting a theme for the White House Christmas tree by decorating the 1961 Blue Room tree with toys, birds, candy canes and angels modeled after Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker.  I'd love to find a print of Jackie's painting to hang on my gallery wall every Christmas.....her style reminds me of the watercolor paintings by French artist Jacqueline Duheme .

My how times have changed.  In 2009 the Obamas chose Simon Doonan, the creative director of Barney's New York, to decorate the White House Christmas tree.  Doonan, known for his extreme design choices, featured ornaments like the oh-so-festive Chairman Mao.  What a difference a few decades make, uh?  This year, since my childhood Christmas ornaments are at my parent's house, my tree will be filled with peacocks aplenty!  I'll share the results soon :)

(images via Style Court and  Kennedy Library)