About the event:

Since the year 1963, when First Lady of New York City, Susan Edwards Wagner (1909-1964) conceived and realized the public wing at Gracie Mansion which now bears her name, antiques and other decorative arts have been donated or loaned on an ongoing basis to adorn the interior.

Such collecting spread and accelerated in 1981, when Mayor Edward I. Koch ((1924-2013) created the Gracie Mansion Conservancy as the nonprofit partner to restore the landmark structure and recreate its interior to reflect its creation in 1799. In the year 2002, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (b. 1942) again re-envisioned the complete interior and added to the historic collections, while during the ensuing Bill de Blasio (b. 1961) administration focus fell instead on changing art exhibitions. Most works shown from 2014 to 2021 were lent but a few items remain as permanent legacies as this comprehensive catalog shows.

Today, when New Yorkers and lovers of New York City visit in person they can discover most of these collections in person.  They belong to and in The People’s House as a public trust maintained by the Gracie Mansion Conservancy. It will always be a work in progress–like the history made here daily. Come see the collection and learn about the colorful history of New York’s “little White House!”