An act of Congress, passed in 1961, made objects belonging to the White House part of its permanent collections and designated the museum character of the State Rooms. The care and the growth of the collections, previously left somewhat to chance, were finally formalized. In the same year the Office of the Curator was established. For the first time truly professional standards were applied to the works in the collection. We have selected here some of the pieces of the collection for you to view online.