Green Room, White House c. late 19th century

This is a stereograph of the Green Room in the White House by Chas. S. Cudlip, one of many images made to give the public access to spaces they may never enter. These images offered a window into the world of power, but also reinforced the visual language of 19th-century domesticity. Note the arrangement of furniture, the ornate details, and the carefully constructed sense of 'refined' comfort. These details speak volumes about the performance of power and domestic life during that era. Think about the labor required to maintain this space and whose stories are left out of this carefully composed image. Stereographs like these catered to a growing middle class eager to consume images of wealth and status. They also offered a form of 'virtual tourism,' allowing people to experience places they might never visit in person. They served as a form of social education, teaching viewers how to perform the rituals of middle and upper class life. What desires and fantasies do you think this image elicited in its original viewers, and what stories did it obscure?