Clement Ellis Conger (October 15, 1912 – January 11, 2004) was an American museum curator and

public servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...

. He served as director of the Office of Fine Arts at the U.S. Department of State, where he worked as curator of both the Diplomatic Reception Rooms and

Blair House Blair House, also known as The President's Guest House, is an official residence in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The President's Guest House has been called "the world's most exclusive hotel" because it is primarily used ...

. He also served as Curator of the White House under U.S. Presidents

Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 36th vice president under P ...

, Ford,

Carter Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to: Geography United States * Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Carter, Montana, a census-designated place * Carter ...

, and Reagan. Prior to working as a curator, Conger served as a

Foreign Service Officer A Foreign Service officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. FSOs formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. They spend most of their careers overseas as members of U.S. embassies, cons ...

, as the Deputy

Chief of Protocol of the United States In the United States, the chief of protocol is an officer of the United States Department of State responsible for advising the president of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, vice president of the United States, and th ...

, and as Assistant Secretary of the

Combined Chiefs of Staff The Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) was the supreme military staff for the United States and Britain during World War II. It set all the major policy decisions for the two nations, subject to the approvals of British Prime Minister Winston Churchi ...

Early life and education

Conger was born on October 15, 1912, in

Harrisonburg, Virginia Harrisonburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is also the county seat of the surrounding Rockingham Cou ...

. He attended and graduated from Strayer College in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Career

Following graduation from Strayer College, Conger worked as an office manager for the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' and for U.S. Rubber Co. He was assistant secretary for the

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He worked for the

United States State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

, where he served as deputy chief of protocol from 1958 to 1961. In 1992, he received the Henry Francis du Pont Award from the Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library, which recognizes awardees' "contributions of national significance to the knowledge, preservation, and enjoyment of American decorative arts, architecture, landscape design, and gardens."

Death

Conger died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

Delray Beach, Florida Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020, was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 United States Census. Located in the Miami metropolitan area, De ...

, on January 11, 2004, and was interred in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city located primarily in the Verdugo Mountains region, with a small portion in the San Fernando Valley, of Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is located about north of downtown Los Angeles. As of 2024, Glendale ha ...

Works

*Clement E. Conger, Mary K. Itsell, ''Treasures of State: Fine and Decorative Art in the Diplomatic Reception Rooms of the U.S. Department of State'', H.N. Abrams, 1991,

References

External links

Reminiscences of Clement Conger : oral history, 1972.
''Columbia University'' * *http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?041+ful+SJ187+pdf *https://web.archive.org/web/20111012205352/http://thenewnixon.org/2009/10/05/pat-nixon-and-the-golden-age-of-the-white-house/ *https://web.archive.org/web/20110826141712/http://sackheritage.com/articles/articles.php?articleID=13 {{DEFAULTSORT:Conger, Clement 1912 births 2004 deaths Carter administration personnel Ford administration personnel George H. W. Bush administration personnel Nixon administration personnel People from Harrisonburg, Virginia Reagan administration personnel White House curators Members of the Sons of the American Revolution