![]() Upstairs are three of George Catlin's amazing portraits of American Indians, as well as Karl Bodmer aquatints of western scenes from the same period. Since Dick and I are from Wyoming, we are particularly fond of the western art in the vice president's residence a bronze moose by Henry Shrady in the sunroom that comes from the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and a bronze buffalo by Daniel Ostermiller in the library. Andrew Wyeth, whose painting Siri hangs in the library (and looks as though it were meant to be there), hasn't visited yet, but his son Jamie came to dinner and brought the most beautiful hostess gift: a study he did of the vice president's house several years ago that he is generously lending to us now. Helen Frankenthaler has been our honored guest, as have Nancy Lorenz, whose painting hangs in the entrance hall, and Elaine Kurtz, who took a painting I admired off the wall of her New York loft so that we could hang it in the dining room. We've had several dinners to celebrate the art in the residence. But when it arrived, it fit, and we love it. I was delighted when they agreed to lend it and immediately started worrying that it would, despite all our careful measurements, be too large for the wall over the sofa. One work stood out: Lush Spring, an eight-by-nine-foot painting owned by the Phoenix Art Museum. When I told her I wanted to hang one of her paintings in the house, she sent a stack of exhibition catalogues. My first phone call was to Helen Frankenthaler, whom I know through mutual friends. One of the great pleasures of living in the vice president's house is being able to borrow art to display in it. The drapery fabric guided the rest of our choices, all of which are either variations on a lovely celadon or colors compatible with it. One guest, examining the striped silk taffeta draperies in the living room and the dining room, observed that if she had to play Scarlett O'Hara, these were the drapes she would want to make a dress from. The fabrics Frank gathered for us to choose from were wonderful. The William Morris-style wallpaper in the library is something I would never have thought of, but when Frank brought over a large sample, it was an obvious choice. ![]() Using privately donated funds, we started wallpapering, carpeting and re-covering. ![]() ![]() I am particularly fond of the silvery color Frank chose for the sunroom floor. The navy officer supervising these projects thoughtfully consulted with Frank and me about materials and finishes. For safety reasons, the navy also replaced the fireboxes in the residence's seven fireplaces, and that made new fire surrounds necessary. The old floors had been refinished so many times that nails were sticking up. The naval personnel in charge of the residence asked my husband and me to delay moving into the house for six weeks after the inaugural so that new wood floors could be put in on the first and second floors. ![]()
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