The Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE), the leading non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the United States image abroad through American art, works with the State Department and preeminent American artists to create and donate artwork for U.S. embassies around the world.
FAPE announced today that it will honor Stephen Breyer, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, with the first annual Leonore and Walter Annenberg Award for Diplomacy through the Arts. Artist Ellsworth Kelly, who designed the official award, will present it to Justice Breyer at a dinner at the State Department’s Diplomatic Reception Rooms hosted by Secretary Clinton on Monday, May 11, 2009, in Washington, DC.
FAPE created the award to recognize the outstanding achievements of distinguished American individuals who have furthered global understanding of the United States. The Award is one small way for FAPE to honor Lee Annenberg, a founder of FAPE, and her husband, Walter, for their extraordinary commitment to our organization. It also pays tribute to their passion for art, and their extraordinary philanthropic legacy.
Justice Breyer was selected by Mrs. Annenberg and the Award’s Inaugural Jury, including: Richard Parsons, Chairman, Citigroup; Earl A. Powell III, Director, National Gallery of Art; Sharon Rockefeller, President and CEO, WETA, Public Television & Radio; Anna Deavere Smith, Actress, Playwright; and John C. Whitehead, former United States Deputy Secretary of State.
Committed to advancing the integration of art and architecture in the civic sphere, Justice Breyer, along with Judge Douglas P. Woodlock and others, oversaw the design and construction process of the John Joseph Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston. Justice Breyer’s guidance ensured that the building represented our nation’s finest cultural traditions, including Ellsworth Kelly’s Boston Panels, 21 monochrome aluminum panels created in 13 colors. The Courthouse led the way to the Design Excellence Program that the General Services Administration established in 1994, which changed the course of public architecture in the Federal Government.
“The Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies is pleased to present the first Leonore and Walter Annenberg Award to Justice Stephen Breyer. His passion for ensuring that federal buildings — where our country’s democratic principles are upheld — represent modern day thinking and culture is truly admirable. Since the birth of our nation, America’s ever changing democracy has been captured through art and architecture and, thanks to Justice Breyer, this legacy will continue,” said Jo Carole Lauder, Chairman of the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies.
Continuing the conversation on art and culture, the National Gallery of Art will host a panel discussion on “The Role of Art and Architecture in Civic Buildings” at 1:00 PM on Tuesday, May 12, 2009. Panelists will include Stephen G. Breyer, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the United States; Paul Goldberger, architecture critic for The New Yorker and Joseph Urban Professor of Design and Joseph Urban Professor of Design and Architecture, New School; and Robert Storr, dean, Yale School of Art. Held in the East Building Concourse Auditorium, the panel will be moderated by Molly Donovan, associate curator of modern and contemporary art, National Gallery of Art. This program is coordinated with the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, please visit http://www.nga.gov/programs/lectures/index.shtm#civicbuildings.
About The Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies
The Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE) is the leading non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the U.S. image abroad through American art. Founded as a public-private, non-partisan partnership in 1986, FAPE works with the U.S. Department of State to contribute fine art to U.S. embassies around the world. FAPE’s donations include works by more than 145 preeminent American artists placed in over 70 countries. Headquartered in Washington D.C., FAPE has raised over $42 million in art and monetary contributions to date. For more information, please visit www.fapeglobal.org.