George D. Widener Collection

While in Washington D.C., we went to the National Museum of Art at the Smithsonian. While there, we went into a room that had the same style in paneling as the Titanic's Lounge, which is modeled for one of the rooms in the Palace of Versailles. The reason being, is because there was a collection of art pieces that was owned by King Louis XIV. The pieces were donated by a Mrs. Rice. Well, her former husband was George Dunton Widner. He and his son Harry put her into a lifeboat before going down with the ship. George Widner was a collector of art, and his son shared that same interest, collecting rare books. After Mrs. Widner arrived in Philadelphia and later married Dr. Rice, she donated these things to the Smithsonian. The art pieces were very interesting, and I think that it's ironic that they did the room at the Smithsonian in the same style as the Lounge.