James Madison's Montpelier We The People Fall 2015 | Page 15

FALL 2015

Dolley’s Hand in Design
UNVEILING THE MADISONS’ PRIVATE BEDCHAMBER

In May, we opened the Madisons’ newly furnished
bedchamber to the public. Decorating the room to
our interpretive period, James and Dolley Madison’s
retirement era (1817-1836), our intent was to tell
the story of their inner lives and personal spaces.
The bedchamber is a private space, one visited only
by close family and friends. It’s a warm, comfortable
room with grand views of the Blue Ridge.
While many of the family’s orders for domestic goods were in James Madison’s hand, we have long
assumed Dolley played a more active and deliberate role in furnishing Montpelier. Choices throughout
the house mimic those she made at the President’s House, from large looking glasses and ornate window
treatments to glassware and serving pieces.
For several months, the curatorial team deliberated over a reference to fabric in a ca. 1820 letter that
seemed particularly important, in which Madison ordered textiles for the bedchamber: “four pieces of
furniture Chintz, of live colours—with fringe to suit it, all, for bed & windows of the same room.” It
wasn’t until we pulled a photo of the original manuscript that we notice the reference to chintz fabric was
written along the folded edge of the letter in Dolley’s hand.
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