Dr. Lindsay M. Chervinsky, Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon and Author Most Recently of Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents that Forged the Republic, will Curate an Exhibit at Raab
The Raab Collection is pleased to welcome Dr. Chervinsky as our next Guest Curator. Dr. Chervinsky is a historian of the presidency, political culture, and U.S. government institutions, and in 2024, she was named the Executive Director of the George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon. Previously, she was a senior non-residential fellow at the Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University and a White House Historical Association historian.
She received her B.A. in history and political science from George Washington University and completed her master’s and Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis. She has been awarded fellowships at the Library of Congress, the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies, the International Center for Jefferson Studies, the Society of Cincinnati, and Mount Vernon.
Dr. Chervinsky is the author, most recently, of Making the Presidency: John Adams and the Precedents that Forged the Republic (Oxford University Press, 2024), an authoritative account of the second president of the United States that shows how John Adams’s leadership and legacy defined the office for those who followed and ensured the survival of the American republic.
Historian, collector, and philanthropist David Rubenstein said of her book: “Those who want to know more about the extraordinary–but often unsung–talents and accomplishments of John Adams should read this well-written and thoroughly entertaining book that brings to life the complicated personality and immense talents of our second president.”
Dr. Chervinsky is also the author of the award-winning The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution (Belknap / Harvard University Press) and the co-editor of Mourning the Presidents: Loss and Legacy in American Culture (University of Virginia Press). As a presidential historian, she writes for public audiences in the Wall Street Journal, Ms. Magazine, Time Magazine, USA Today, CNN, and the Washington Post, and she is a regular source for insight and commentary for outlets like the BBC, Associated Press, Washington Post, New York Times, and many more. She has recently appeared on CBS News and CNN.
About the George Washington Presidential Library
The George Washington Presidential Library at Mount Vernon, completed in 2013, supports scholarly research, provides a platform for educational outreach, and serves as a center for leadership training, conferences, and gatherings inspired by Washington’s example. The Library sponsors impactful forums in early American history and civic engagement, manages a prominent research fellowship program, houses an extensive collection of manuscripts, maps, and books, organizes expansive digital offerings, and annually hosts thousands of people at public events and leadership programs.
Dr. Chervinsky is charting the course for the Library’s second decade, including Mount Vernon’s programming around the significant anniversaries recognizing America’s 250th in 2026 and George Washington’s 300th Birthday in 2032.
About the Guest Curators Program at Raab
Several times a year, The Raab Collection invites authors, historians, and thought leaders to choose a selection of documents currently for sale with Raab and curate a themed ‘exhibit’ with commentary by the Guest Curator. They share their experience and expertise, motivations and passions, bringing history to life in ways only they can. Previous Guest Curators have included Stewart McLaurin, President of the White House Historical Association, and Edward F. O’Keefe, CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation, among others. The Raab Collection is often on the front line of historical discovery. Many of the pieces we sell are unpublished or were acquired directly from the descendants or heirs of historical figures and collectors, often unseen by the general public or the research community before. This offers each Guest Curator robust and interesting material to highlight.
The exhibit curated by Dr. Chervinsky will debut on the Raab website later this month.
