In his thorough article on the presentation of a Baldishol Tapestry copy to Mrs. Coolidge and the White House in 1926, Norwegian author Hermund Kleppa contacted an assistant curator at the White House, Melissa Naulin. This was back in 2009, when he wrote “The Baldishol Tapestry in the White House,” which appears in translation in the February issue of The Norwegian Textile Letter. She broke the sad news that there was no evidence it had ever hung in the White House, and it has been in storage since its presentation. 

It took me a while, but I was able to contact the curator again, as I had questions.  Is the tapestry still safely tucked away in storage?  Is there a chance it would ever be shown? Does the White House keep all gift items like this forever? Could it be given to the Smithsonian for display?

Ms. Naulin responded, 

Yes, the tapestry remains safe in museum storage at our collections facility. It is certainly possible that it be shown in the future, although there are no current plans to do so. Public law 87-286, issued in 1961, dictates that any object accessioned into the White House collection remains so in perpetuity: we do not deaccession collection items. So yes, it will be here. It can not be given to the Smithsonian, but could be loaned there for display: in general, we do not loan our collection, but the Smithsonian Institution is the one exception to that rule.

She was also happy to see the translation of the original article, as she only had a Norwegian copy.  It’s good to hear that the tapestry remains safe, even though I harbored hopes it could somehow come to Minnesota.  

A photo of the original Baldishol Tapestry

If you didn’t catch them when the recent issue of The Norwegian Textile Letter came out, these are the articles about the 5000 Norwegian-American women who contributed to the weaving of the Baldishol Tapestry copy to be placed in the White House. 

The Baldishol Tapestry in the White House. This article originally appeared in the Kulturhistorisk Leksikon (Cultural History Encyclopedia), published by Fylkesarkivet i Sogn og Fjordane (the County Archives of Sogn and Fjordane).

The Baldishol Tapestry–The White House Replica and Others

Robbie LaFleur
robbielafleur.com
lafleur1801@me.com

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