Mount Vernon - Curated for 1799
Rustication: A manner of treating the exterior of a wooden building to make it appear as if it is made of stone. The effect is achieved by cutting and beveling the wooden siding boards (at Mount Vernon, the boards are made of pine) at regular intervals to simulate stone blocks and by applying sand to the surface to imitate the rough texture of stone. In the eighteenth century, the treatment was most often used to add distinction to isolated structural elements, such as around doorways and windows. However, in 1797 Washington started updating the paint and sand process and was testing types of sand for effect of the application just before his death in 1799.
Visiting Mount Vernon is always a considerable sensory experience. As far as the eye can see, you are immersed in what George and Martha Washington created. Mount Vernon is now presented in the year 1799 - The year of his death. Washington returned in 1797 from his presidency years in New York and then Philadelphia. Much of the work of expanding Mount Vernon was achieved in his extensive absences in his military duties - eight years for the Continental Army and eight-year Presidency. The first term as President was a relatively glowing experience with great admiration. The second term was full of problems and criticism of his administration. Coming back to Mount Vernon must have been euphoric. George and Martha went on an aggressive program to spruce up the Mansion. Many cosmetic changes were made to bring things up to a more updated appearance. Mount Vernon was now hosting guests, an estimated 677 in 1798, in an almost revolving-door fashion. While dropping by and staying a few nights was the custom at the time, the Washingtons were national celebrities everyone wanted to spend time with and experience Washington's generous hospitality.
First of Two Expansions: Conjectural sketch of the 1759 house - George Washington expanded the house upward to include two full stories and a new garret. The fact that Washington developed his father's house rather than building a new one suggests the importance of familial legacy to Washington. The staircase location on the interior would force the front door to be placed off-center. This decision would forever create a slightly asymmetrical exterior that Washington would try to deemphasize with architectural additions of the pediment and cupola. The cupola is somewhat off-center to help establish the desired illusion of symmetry that was the ideal of classical architecture of the period.
The West Facade: The addition of the pediment brought an element of classicism to the west elevation of the Mansion that Washington desired. Moreover, it played a crucial role in establishing at least an illusion of the symmetry that Washington intended. In 1778, a cupola was added to the roof. Like the pediment, it provided a central axis for the symmetry Washington had hoped to achieve. However, it does not actually sit at the centerline of the house, being somewhat set a few feet to the south. In addition to its aesthetic function, the cupola functions as a ventilator; with its windows open, convection pulls warm air up and out of the house while drawing cooler air through open windows on the lower floors.
Palladian Window: British architect Batty Langley's 1750 pattern book “City and Country Builder's and Workman's Treasury of Designs” influenced the Palladian window at Mount Vernon. Doric pilasters divide the three-part window; the pilasters are paneled much like the piers on the east elevation's piazza. The window features a broken pediment with three voussoirs over the central portion of the exterior (as in Langley's drawing) but only a single keystone on the interior. Although the window's interior interprets Langley's blocked base, it is finished with only a simple sill on the exterior.
Some public spaces at Mount Vernon have taken on new renovations over the past years as they have been curated and refreshed. Mount Vernon, having evolved over decades from a relatively modest 1734 home built by his father, Augustine Washington. George Washington spent 45 years developing the dwelling to create the 21-room residence we see today and had to break many of the strict rules of the ideals of symmetry of the time. There are no advantages of 12-foot ceilings and perfectly placed doors and windows. The aesthetic compromise was a criticism of some visitors expecting more of the ideals of uniform classicism of the time from its most celebrated citizen. Conscious that the world was watching - Washington may have wanted to compensate with an abundance of expensive wall coverings, mirrors, carpeting, and furnishings he ordered. The results of team Mount Vernon have a new, improved interior experience that walks us through the evolution of design and taste at the very end of the century that is moving into a new Federal period of design out of the Georgian style of most of that century.
The room that seems to best capture what Washington wanted to represent his vision is the recently rebranded "New Room" (formally called the "large dining room" or "Banquet Hall"). This room was the last addition to the north end of the Mansion and embraced his love of the new Adam-influenced design that was the mode arriving in the American colonies late in the century. "With its two-story-high ceiling, detailed architectural ornamentation, and stylish furnishings, the New Room intended to convey unpretentious beauty, and fine craftsmanship, qualities Washington believed communicated the new nation's values." Washington incorporated elements from several English pattern books in his designs for the Mansion's interior and exterior. Two books by Batty Langley, The City and Country Builder and Workman's Treasury of Designs (1750) and The Builder's Jewel (1757), were particularly influential.
New Room: Like many English saloons, Mount Vernon's New Room was fitted out as a picture gallery that could morph into different uses. The north light, streaming in from the new Palladian window, provided ideal illumination. Friend Samuel Vaughan, newly emigrated from London, advised Washington about the latest developments in Robert Adams's designs. Vaughan gifted Washington the beautiful Adam-inspired fireplace used in the New Room.
The Plaster Ceiling: John Rawlins designed the plaster ornament in the New Room. Rawlins was a stucco worker and plasterer who had recently arrived from London and was familiar with the Adamesque style. Rawlins's ceiling features farm tools in each of the four quadrants reflecting crops grown at Mount Vernon. Rawlings being too elderly to travel, sent Richard Tharpe, an Irish stucco artisan, who became the "principal workman" and installed the ceiling.
The rediscovery of a ledger kept by the Fairfax family of neighboring Belvoir plantation provided documentary evidence of the original furniture in the room, furniture that was purchased in London and given by George William Fairfax on his return to England to his friend and neighbor George Washington. While none of the original pieces survives, the curatorial team worked to replicate the Fairfax-Washington furniture based on comparable period examples. The original upholstery fabric—a room highlight—is documented as silk and worsted wool damask dyed "Saxon blue," a bright and vibrant color that curators worked to replicate. The front parlor was a site of formal entertainment, featuring fine furnishings and architectural elements. More than thirty years have passed since the room was last wholly restored. New forensic analysis of the architecture and significant documentary discoveries have combined to reveal more about the appearance and evolution of the room.
Front Parlor: The carpet is listed in George Washington's probate inventory. In March of 1797, George Washington wrote to his secretary, Tobias Lear, who was in Philadelphia, requesting that he purchase a carpet for the Front Parlor, saying that "as the furniture was blue, the ground or principal flowers in it ought to be blue also." Washington requested a Wilton carpet, a type of jacquard-woven carpet.
Front Parlor Furniture: The furniture, acquired by Washington, is extensively described in George William Fairfax’s account book and also in the inventory he took before departing Virginia for England in 1774. The chairs and sofa were all covered with “Superfe. Saxon Blue Mix’d Damask,” an expensive patterned textile made from silk and worsted fibers woven in a damask pattern.
The Dining Room is part of the original house, built in 1734. Over the years, the room underwent a series of renovations. While George Washington was away commanding the Continental Army in 1775, the room was updated under the supervision of his cousin Lund Washington. In 1785, the striking verdigris-green paint was added. Intended to be viewed in candlelight, Washington believed the color to be "grateful to the eye" and less likely than other colors to fade; an overcoat of glaze further enhances the color effect. During this 1775 renovation, Washington decided to install an elaborately decorated plaster ceiling and add plaster ornaments above the fireplace. He hired an expert plasterer, identified simply as the "Stucco Man," who spent five months completing the hand-tooled ceiling. The same craftsman worked on Kenmore (completed in 1775/1776) in Fredricksburg, VA - The home of his sister Betty Washington Lewis and Fielding Lewis. A Mount Vernon renovation in 2001 uncovered some of his original pencil drawings on the ceiling laying out the design.
The Dining Room: Part of the original house was built in 1734. Previously red, in 1785, adapting the "mode" arriving from London - the verdigris-green paint was added. Washington believed the color to be "grateful to the eye" and less likely than other colors to fade; an overcoat of glaze further intensified the color. The full shimmering effect would be realized when used with soft candlelight. The shade of green was discovered by adding acetic acid and copper to the paint's composition.
Dining Room Ceiling: In 1775, Washington decided to install an elaborately decorated plaster ceiling and add plaster ornaments above the fireplace. He hired an expert plasterer, identified simply as the "Stucco Man," who came from working on Kenmore in Fredericksburg, Virginia (his sister Betty Washington Lewis and brother-in-law, second cousin, Fielding Lewis). A renovation in 2001 uncovered some of his original pencil drawings on the ceiling laying out the design.
LEFT TO RIGHT: New Room: The Adam-style marble mantlepiece was presented in 1784 to George Washington by friend and advisor Samuel Vaughan and placed in the New Room. Vaughan had recently emigrated from England and was familiar with the style of Robert Adam embraced by London society. Little Parlor: The new curation features wallpaper along with the harpsichord that brought music to Mount Vernon and added to George and Martha Washington's life and their hospitality. Study: Directly beneath the bedroom of George and Martha with its own stairs, Washington would arrive between 4 and 5 am to dress and start his day. Washington had about 900 books in his library. Chintz Room: The Chintz Room was one of the finest of the six primary bed chambers at Mount Vernon. It was located on the second floor in the southwest corner. The current interpretation shows the mature, layered look the room would have taken on by 1799.
Lower Garden: The Lower Garden was also the kitchen garden for the kitchen at Mount Vernon. The kitchen is to the left, and the stables are to the right. The view is across the Potomac River, looking to Maryland.
Upper Garden: Washington finished enclosing the walls of the Upper Garden in 1776. Originally created as a fruit-and-nuts garden, it was transformed from a garden of necessity to a more decorative one in 1785.
Greenhouse: Completed in 1787, the Greenhouse—allowed Washington to grow tropical and semitropical plants. Lemon and orange trees and sago palms grew here. Washington's Greenhouse burned in 1835, and the present structure was built in 1951 on the original foundation and based on drawings of the original design. The reconstruction incorporates bricks from the White House, which was fully renovated between 1948 and 1952.
