Featured Program

Children in the White House:
Caroline Kennedy's Dolls
April 26 - November 2, 2008

On April 26, 2008 , the Hoover Presidential Museum & Library opened a special exhibition entitled Children in the White House: Caroline Kennedy's Dolls. The exhibition showcases more than 70 dolls and puppets from 30 countries given to Caroline Kennedy beginning in 1961 when her family entered the White House through 1963 when tragedy ended their brief residency. The exhibition will run through November 2, 2008 .

Foreign dignitaries and first ladies-including Italy 's Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani, the Ivory Coast 's President Houphouet-Boigny, India 's Indira Gandhi , Monaco 's Princess Grace, and France 's Madame de Gaulle-presented dolls to young Caroline Kennedy as state gifts. Other dolls in the collection were gifts from foreign citizens who did not hold official government positions. The collection is on loan from the John F. Kennedy Library, which originally organized the exhibition in November 2003.

Born in 1957, Caroline Kennedy was a 3 year old when her father took the oath of office as President of the United States on January 20, 1961 . (Her brother, John, was two months old at the time.) She attended kindergarten at the White House, in classes organized by her mother, Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy. Some of the most recognizable images of the Kennedy White House include photographs of the Kennedy children in the Oval Office and with their parents.

"This was quite an undertaking from a conservation perspective," said Frank Rigg, of the John F. Kennedy Library. "Many of the dolls are handcrafted and therefore both beautiful and delicate. Restoration efforts have returned each doll to its original appearance and will serve to preserve all the dolls for years to come."

Exhibit Highlights

The collection of state gifts includes:

•  A Peruvian mother-and-child and Peruvian doll in formal costume from the First Lady of Peru, Senora de Prado, wife of President Manuel Prado

•  Paper- and clay-mache dolls depicting Indian women dressed in brightly colored saris from India 's Indira Gandhi

•  A Monegasque palace guard from Princess Grace of Monaco

•  An African doll in a colorful print costume with matching turban from Ivory Coast President Houphouet-Boigny

•  Eighteen dolls representing Mexico 's diverse regions from Mexican First Lady Ave Lopez Mateos

•  An Italian Lenci doll in traditional costume from Italian Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani

•  Two dolls in traditional French costumes and a playhouse from Madame Charles de Gaulle

•  A Norwegian boy and girl in festive attire from Norwegian Prime Minister Einar Gerhardsen

•  An Indonesian doll from President Sukarno of Indonesia

The collection also includes dolls and puppets from Santo Domingo , Uruguay , Guatemala , Colombia , Austria , Holland , Wales , Hungary , Czechoslovakia , Yugoslavia , Poland , Germany , Japan , Thailand , Pakistan , Jordan , Korea , Canada , Greece , and Puerto Rico

In addition to the display of Caroline Kennedy's dolls, the Hoover exhibit will also feature items from the lives of other children who lived in the White House including the grandchildren of President Hoover - Peggy and Pete Hoover!