The author is the director of the Art in Embassies Program. If a picture is worth a thousand words, the Art in Embassies Program is telling the world volumes about U.S. history and culture. Contemporary hand-blown glass formed into sinuous folds of brilliant color. Quilted pinwheels, coaxed from fabric scraps by nimble fingers faithfully preserving a rich tradition of female artistic expression. Thick, shiny black paint applied with a palette knife to raw canvas in expressive calligraphic strokes.
Art transcends the barriers of language and culture.
Regardless of its medium, style or subject matter, American art is universal in its appeal and eloquently depicts the tradition of diversity and individuality of expression that American artists have the freedom to convey. And if the old saying about a picture being worth a thousand words holds true, State's Art in Embassies Program is telling the world volumes about U.S. history and culture. These works are exhibited worldwide in about 170 U.S. Embassy residences. The program's curators, registrars and administrative personnel operate under the Administration Bureau's Office of Foreign Buildings Operations. They're involved in everything from guiding ambassadors in developing collection themes to locating the finest available examples and securing them through lending agreements with artists, galleries, museums, corporations, foundations and private collectors.