Curator of the United States Senate

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Curator of the United States Senate" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (July 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (July 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

This article is part of a series on the
United States Senate
History of the United States Senate
Members
Current members (by seniority by class) Former members Hill committees (DSCC NRSC) Women in the Senate United States Vice President (list) President pro tempore (list) Presiding officer Party leaders Party leadership of the United States Senate Democratic Caucus Republican Conference
Politics and procedure
Advice and consent Blue slip Closed session (list) Cloture Committees (list) Executive session Morning business Filibuster Journal Nuclear option Recess appointment Quorum Quorum call Salaries Saxbe fix Seal Holds Senatorial courtesy Standing Rules Traditions Unanimous consent Vice presidential tie-breaking votes
Places
United States Capitol Senate chamber Old Senate Chamber Senate Reception Room Senate office buildings (Dirksen Hart Russell)
v t e

The curator of the United States Senate is responsible for the care of the Senate collection of art and artifacts. The current curatress of the Senate is Melinda K. Smith.

On behalf of the U.S. Senate Commission on Art, the Office of the Senate Curator develops and implements the museum and preservation programs for the U.S. Senate. The Office collects, preserves, and interprets the Senate's fine and decorative art, historical artifacts and images, and architectural features within the Senate wing of the United States Capitol and Senate Office Buildings.

Through exhibits, publications, and other programs, the Office educates the public about the Senate and its collections. The Office of Senate Curator is also responsible for the supervision and care of the Old Senate Chamber and the Old Supreme Court Chamber.

The Office has established environmentally controlled museum quality storage spaces; overseen foreign gifts received by senators as part of their diplomatic duties; and reinterpreted the paint colors, drapery, and chair upholstery of the historic chambers.

In 1968, Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield, in conjunction with Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen, established a Commission on Art and Antiquities (now the Senate Commission on Art), with the secretary of the Senate serving as its executive secretary, and created the position of Senate Curator.

• Joseph Dougherty 1968–1969
• Richard A. Baker (acting) 1969–1970
• James R. Ketchum 1970–1995
• Diane K. Skvarla 1995–2014
• Melinda K. Smith 2014–present

• Office of Senate Curator website
• U.S. Senate collection of Decorative Art
• U.S. Senate collection of Fine Art
• U.S. Senate collection of Historical Images
• U.S. Senate collection of Historcial Artifacts
• C-SPAN Q&A interview with Diane Skvarla, July 2, 2006

 This article incorporates public domain material from The Office of Senate Curator. U.S. Senate.

This United States Congress–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e