Diplomacy at Home: The Domestic Lives of the Founding Families

Diplomacy at Home: The Domestic Lives of the Founding Families

June 28 – October 4, 2026

This exhibition explores the private worlds of America’s founders through furniture, fine art, decorative, and personal objects from their homes—revealing how domestic spaces shaped political life and diplomacy. With special focus on New York figures such as John Jay and Alexander Hamilton among others, Diplomacy at Home: The Domestic Lives of the Founding Families also foregrounds the essential roles of women including Martha Washington and Sarah Jay, who were instrumental to the development of the political and diplomatic culture of the newly formed United States. The exhibition highlights the value of material culture in defining the Founding Families’ central role as the architects who framed the foundation for our collective national history and explores the meaning of “home” across lives defined by public service. Diplomacy at Home: The Domestic Lives of the Founding Families aligns with the John Jay Homestead’s 250th anniversary and will be a cornerstone of the events planned by the town of Bedford and Westchester County as part of the nation-wide celebration of the country’s semiquincentennial.

Diplomacy at Home: The Domestic Lives of the Founding Families is organized by the Katonah Museum of Art in collaboration with the Friends of John Jay Homestead and the Richard Hampton Jenrette Foundation. The exhibition is guest curated by the Richard Hampton Jenrette Foundation’s Curator and Director of Collections Grant Quertermous.