The East Room is the largest room in the White House, the home of the President of the United States. It is used for entertaining, press conferences, ceremonies, and occasionally for a large dinner. The White House's oldest possession, the Lansdowne portrait depicting George Washington and painted by Gilbert Stuart in 1797, was rescued from the 1814 fire, and now hangs in the East Room with a companion portrait of Martha Washington painted by Eliphalet F. Andrews in 1878.
Read more about East Room: History and Design, Refurbishment
Famous quotes containing the words east and/or room:
“We have heard all of our lives how, after the Civil War was over, the South went back to straighten itself out and make a living again. It was for many years a voiceless part of the government. The balance of power moved away from it—to the north and the east. The problems of the north and the east became the big problem of the country and nobody paid much attention to the economic unbalance the South had left as its only choice.”
—Lyndon Baines Johnson (1908–1973)
“There’s a theory, one I find persuasive, that the quest for knowledge is, at bottom, the search for the answer to the question: “Where was I before I was born.” In the beginning was ... what? Perhaps, in the beginning, there was a curious room, a room like this one, crammed with wonders; and now the room and all it contains are forbidden you, although it was made just for you, had been prepared for you since time began, and you will spend all your life trying to remember it.”
—Angela Carter (1940–1992)