Somerville Manning Gallery has contributed to the curation of the Art in Embassies (AIE) program in Paris, France. Beginning in October 2022, this artwork will live in the Paris home of Ambassador Jack Markell and Carla Markell, who will reside in Paris during Mr. Markell’s tenure as the U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
VIEW FULL EXHIBITION CATALOG HERE
ABOUT Art in Embassies (AIE):
Art in Embassies (AIE), a U.S. Department of State program, creates vital cross-cultural dialogue and fosters mutual understanding through the visual arts and dynamic artist exchanges.
AIE develops and presents approximately 60 exhibitions per year and has installed over 70 permanent art collections in more than 200 of the Department’s diplomatic facilities in 189 countries.
To accomplish the mission, AIE engages over 20,000 international participants, including artists, museums, galleries, universities, and private collectors.
— https://art.state.gov | Art in Embassies | U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C.
ABOUT Ambassador Jack Markell and Carla Markell’s Curated Collection in Paris, France:
Welcome to this home of the American people in Paris, France. We are privileged to live here during my tenure as the U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
We have chosen two themes for the art in the Residence: Connecting Between Generations and The Brandywine Valley. We grew up in Wilmington, Delaware, and raised our children in the beautiful Brandywine Valley. We wanted to bring “home” to Paris.
We asked Vickie Manning and Rebecca Moore of the Somerville Manning Gallery in Wilmington to help us select and coordinate with artists. Aided by Rebecca’s tech skills, they helped determine the quantity and placement of the artworks throughout specific areas in the Residence. Vickie ventured to Paris to help with the installation and the rearranging of works onsite.
The name Wyeth does not reference a single artist, but rather a dynasty of skilled American painters who have collectively set the standard for American realism. N.C., Andrew, and Jamie Wyeth represent the Brandywine Valley like no one else. We reached out to Jamie Wyeth about our move to Paris, and he generously offered to help us tell the story of his family. He lent us paintings from his personal collection and inspired our concept of generational stories. Jamie shared that a “Three Generations of Wyeth” story had been exhibited in Paris in 2012, and we are proud to repeat this amazing story on a smaller scale.
Edward L. Loper Sr. and Edward L. Loper Jr., like the Wyeths, were influenced by another wonderful Delaware artist, Howard Pyle, an important illustrator from the Golden Age of Illustration. We are privileged to have paintings from both Lopers, thanks to their grandson Jamie. Both father and son have a distinct style with a vibrant palette and juxtaposition of colors. Loper Jr. spent time in Paris, and we feel fortunate to be able to display his Pont Neuf, painted along the river Seine. Carla, coincidentally, has spent time with Loper Sr. and watched him paint along the Brandywine River and other locations.
Ola Rondiak, an artist and a friend from Delaware, was inspired by the story of her grandmother who was left behind in Ukraine and later served twenty-five years of hard labor in a Russian prison for assisting the Ukrainian Partisan Army. There was no trial, court, or judge. Rondiak and her family moved back to Ukraine from Delaware in the early 2000s. Her art is largely based on embroidery her grandmother did surreptitiously while in a Russian prison.
Emma Amos, Mary Page Evans, Sarah Lamb, Sarah McRae Morton, Vicki Vinton, and George Alexis Weymouth round out the artists in our exhibition. Works by Lisa Ashley, Mary Lee Bendolph, Christo, Francoise Beck Djevaguiroff, Roy Lichtenstein, Beatrice Lintner, Christine Livadas, Monique Rollins, James Rosenquist, Alex Rudin, Carol Spiker, and Judy Weinstein are also featured in the Residence. We are grateful to these artists and the collectors who have lent us their work, which adds so much beauty to this American home.
A very special thank you to the curators of this exhibition and to Art in Embassies for arranging the shipping and installation!
Ambassador Jack Markell and Carla Markell
Paris, France October 2022
— published by Art in Embassies | U.S. Department of State, Washington, D.C. | October 2022
https://art.state.gov/
