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{Lefthand Margin reads: A20 THE NEW YORK TIMES, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 1986
WASHINGTON TALK]

State Department

American Art Abroad

Special to The New York Times
WASHINGTON, Jan. 28-Some of
the better works in American are are
showing up in the United States embas-
sies and ambassadors' residences
around the world.
The Art in Embassies Program, a
State Department service run
throught the Foreign Buildings Opera-
tions office, administers more than
4,000 works of art that are owned by
the program or on loan from major
art museums, and distributes them to
adorn the walls and receiving rooms
of 141 foreign posts.
Lee Kimche McGrath, who was re-
cently appointed to head the pro-
gram, says it had been limited to am-
bassadors' residences but she is ex-
panding it to include embassies, too.
She also hopes to expand the pro-
gram's permanent collection.

A Showcase of Art

"It allows us to showcase of of
the best contemporary artists in this
country," Mrs. McGrath said of the
program.
She added that it also provides
some stylish decorations but that, be-
cause of security precautions, view-
ing of the works of art must be limited
to foreign dignitaries or people on of-
ficial business.
Among the best-known painters,
sculptors and photographers repre-
sented areGeorgia O;Keeffe, John H.
Safer and Ansel Adams.
Some of the most notable works are
found in posts in London, paris, Mos-
cow and Mexico City, including "Sun-
set" by Winslow Homer, on loan from
the National Gallery in Washington;
"Portarit of Gen. George Washing-
ton" by Charles Willson Peale, on
loan from an anonymous lender;
"May" by Grandma Moses, on loan
from Galerie St. Etienne in New
York, and "Campbell's Soup Can" by
Andy Warhol, on loan from the Leo
Castelli gallery in New York.
When a new ambassador is named,
he meets with the interior design staff
of the Foreign Buildings Operations
Office.
The ambassador and his spouse
may then view the program's col-
lected works, stored in the repository in
the basement of the State Depart-
ment and, together with members of
the program staff, pick out a theme
for decorating the embassy or ambas-
sador's residence.

'A Certain Style or Theme'

"We try to get together a mini-col-
lection, a certain period or a certain
style or theme, and then work around
that," Mrs. McGrath said.
That done, the staff sets out to put
together an impressive display,
drawing some works of art directly
from the repository and using others
from museum loans.
Most major American museums
participate in the program, according
to Mrs. McGrath, and they are asked
to lend specific works of art for a
minimum of two years.
Donations to the department's own
collection over the years have left it
with about 1,000 pieces of art that
Mrs. McGrath said are valued at $25
million.
She evisions a private committee
set up to raise funds with which to
purchase lithographs and other less
expensive pieces of art to add to the
repository.
The less expensive pieces, she says,
will help fill out the displays in the
embassies and residences and will
complement the collection's more
prized possesions.

[Three photos of 3 different art pieces are displayed on the left side of the newspaper page. The caption below the three photos reads:

The New York Times/Peter Turnley; The National Gallery

Among works being displayed in the State Department's Art in Em-
bassies Program are, at top: "Mrs Joseph Chamerlain," by John
Singer Sargent, in sitting room of ambassador's residence in Paris;
center, "Iowa Indians Who Visited London and Paris," by George
Catlin, on display in Bogota, Columbia, and "Ship in Full Sail," by T.
Bangor Davis, at United States mission to United Nation in Geneva.]