An Appreciation for Ellsworth Kelly

When American painter, printmaker and sculptor Ellsworth Kelly received the 2012 National Medal of Arts earlier this month, one of the first to congratulate him – besides President Obama – was the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE).

That’s because for years, the 90-year-old artist has been donating, through FAPE, his minimalist work for display in American embassies worldwide.

He’s not alone. Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Alex Katz, Roy Lichtenstein and Sol Lewitt also contributed paintings, prints and sculptures for the enjoyment of embassy workers and their visitors.

It’s estimated that the worth of Kelly’s contributions alone totals nearly $13 million. But that’s only a fraction of the combined value of works by 200 artists in 140 embassies. Some are site-specific commissions, others are part of an original print collection, and still others are preservation projects. All are part of a permanent collection.

“In many cases it’s an artist working on a project for a specific embassy,” says Robert Storr, Chairman of FAPE’s Professional Fine Arts Committee and Dean of the Yale School of Art. “Patrons cover the costs of fabrication, but the artist is not paid – the patron can take a deduction, but the artist cannot.”

Patrons give what they own or they think suitable for an embassy, and cover the costs of fabrication.

“That’s why the donation is extraordinary – it’s a gift to the nation,” he says.

For more than 25 years now, FAPE has contributed to the State Department’s mission of cultural diplomacy by partnering with artists whose work encourages cross-cultural understanding within the diplomatic community and the international public.

“It has nothing to do with the politics of the moment,” he says. “Instead, it’s a gesture to show the best we do, in paintings or sculpture, to those who visit the embassies.”

And what of the risks, in places as dangerous as the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, Libya?

“Anyone who works there spends long years of their lives there,” he says. “The commitment is to put something there that represents the best of American visual culture – the risk there for the art is substantial, but the risk for people who work there is even greater.”

The artwork then, is like the National Medal: a heartfelt gesture of appreciation.

For more on FAPE, go to http://www.fapeglobal.org/

For more on Ellsworth Kelly, go to http://www.ellsworthkelly.org/