Most of us only dream of being able to pick out our favorite pieces of art from museums to display in our homes.
For the ambassadors and their families sent from the United States to live abroad, however, such a dream is a reality. The Art in Embassies Program, initiated in 1964 under President John F. Kennedy's administration, provides curators who ascertain the ambassador's interests and tastes, then contact museums, galleries, private collectors and individual artists to arrange for works of art to be lent to the program.
Currently the program has 4,500 works with a cumulative value of over $70 million on loan to embassies and U.S. State Department buildings around the world. Artists represented in the program range from the 17th to the 20th century. The program also aims to be as inclusive as possible in the range of media exhibited, including paintings, drawings, sculpture, glass, textiles, photography, video and also larger installations. Its most recent project, overseen by Virginia Shore, the curator of the program, is a new permanent exhibition for the American Chancery in Moscow.