Don’t miss this article, in today’s Wall Street Journal: Changing the Art on the White House Walls. It’s a terrific roundup of what’s in and what’s out at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Here’s a key paragraph:
The Obamas are sending ripples through the art world as they put the call out to museums, galleries and private collectors that they’d like to borrow modern art by African-American, Asian, Hispanic and female artists for the White House. In a sharp departure from the 19th-century still lifes, pastorals and portraits that dominate the White House’s public rooms, they are choosing bold, abstract art works.
The White House is borrowing works from the National Gallery and the Hirshhorn, including a terrific Diebenkorn.
The story comes with a video and an interactive graphic on art at the White House through the years — though I’m not sure whether or not non-subscribers can access them. Give it a try.