Grand Foyer -The Grand Foyer serves as the formal entry to the Mansion. The floor is laid in marble donated by Arkansas’s Batesville Marble Company. The beautiful 18th-century chandelier from Paris, France, illuminates the sweeping staircase with a walnut banister.
On the wall leading to the Governor and First Lady’s private residence is a portrait of Arkansas’s First Territorial Governor, James Miller. Miller’s friend, Nathanial Hawthorne, mentioned Miller in his book, The Scarlet Letter, calling him the Governor of a “wild-west territory.” This portrait was painted by Samuel F. B. Morse, the inventor of Morse Code.