Embassy of the United States Paris, France

Art in Embassies

Established in 1963, the U.S. Department of State’s office of ART in Embassies (ART) plays a vital role in our nation’s public diplomacy through a culturally expansive mission, creating temporary and permanent exhibitions, artist programming, and publications. The Museum of Modern Art first envisioned this global visual arts program a decade earlier. In the early 1960s, President John F. Kennedy formalized it, naming the program’s first director. Now with over 200 venues, ART curates temporary and permanent exhibitions for the representational spaces of all U.S. chanceries, consulates, and chief-of-mission residences worldwide, commissioning and selecting contemporary art from the U.S. and the host countries. These exhibitions provide international audiences with a sense of the quality, scope, and diversity of both countries’ art and culture, establishing ART’s presence in more countries than any other U.S. foundation or arts organization. ART’s exhibitions allow foreign citizens, many of whom might never travel to the United States, to personally experience the depth and breadth of our artistic heritage and values, making what has been called a: ‘’footprint that can be left where people have no opportunity to see American art.’’

“The ART in Embassies program reveals the rich history and cultural heritage of the United States and the communal experiences that we share with peoples of different countries, backgrounds and faiths, binding us closer together. Through its temporary exhibitions and permanent collections, the ART in Embassies program intrigues, educates, and connects – playing an ambassadorial role as important as that served by traditional diplomacy.” — Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State

About Art in Embassies in Paris

The Residence of the U.S. Ambassador to France was built by the Baroness Michaëla de Pontalba, an American born in New Orleans. The Baroness worked with Louis Visconti, one of the leading French architects of the day, to construct her house, which was completed in 1842. This beautiful hôtel particulier represents one of the first clear examples of Franco-American artistic collaboration.

It is the backdrop of this almost 170-year old hôtel that led us to select photography for our ART in Embassies exhibition. The juxtaposition of the modern photos against the beautifully ornate architecture and its important antique furnishings makes the images catch the eye and draw one close to enable full appreciation. We are also very proud that our selection represents the first exhibition in the history of the Residence that is exclusively of photographs, highlighting a form of art very dear to the French. Many of the American photographers exhibited here have been featured in French museums, such as the Musée Nationale d’Art Moderne, the Paris Bibliothèque Nationale, and the Centre George Pompidou.

As the famous French photographer Henri Cartier- Bresson said, “To photograph is to hold one’s breath, when all faculties converge to capture fleeting reality. It’s at that precise moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy.” The Residence’s exhibition of American photography depicts many such moments captured in time. There are images of art interacting with the urban, rural, and social landscape in examples by Edward Ruscha, Lee Friedlander, Edward Weston, John Pfahl, John Divola , Victoria Sambunaris, Doug Aitken, and Richard Misrach; iconic American images seen through the lens of Richard Avedon, Julius Shulman, Edward Curtis, and Doug Hall; and of incredible, magical images of seemingly insignificant objects staged and shot by Sarah Charlesworth, Jan Groover, Mary Miss, Ken Fandell, Sharon Lockhart, Lorna Simpson, and Cindy Sherman.

Also fascinating are the various materials, processes, and techniques of both shooting and printing, such as gelatin silver, digital, collage, cibachrome, sepia tone, and emerging color technologies employed by the various artists.

We have had a truly enjoyable experience selecting these photographs and learning about the photographers’ works and styles. We have many people to thank for their involvement in helping us to realize this project. First, we would like to thank The Capital Group Companies, Inc., The Richard Avedon Foundation, Michelle and Glenn Robson, Gagosian Gallery, Sharon Lockhart, Salon 94, and Artes Magnus, who agreed so graciously to lend works. Thank you also to the staff of ART in Embassies and the staffs of the Cultural Heritage and General Services Sections of the U.S. Embassy Paris, whose tireless efforts made possible this exhibition and the accompanying catalogue of selected works.

Ambassador Charles H. Rivkin and Susan M. Tolson Paris, September 2010