FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lee Friedlander Donates Eight Photographs to the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies Installed at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations (USUN), New York City

Washington, D.C. – September 18, 2012 – The Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE) is pleased to announce the recent contribution to its program – eight photographs by Lee Friedlander. The Friedlander photographs have been installed at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations (USUN) in New York City.

Shot almost exclusively in black and white, Friedlander’s work depicts urban and rural America in the second half of the twentieth century. The artist’s fascination with the social landscape is Lee Friedlander, New York City, 1963. Gift of the Artist to the captured on the road and on the street, Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies documenting American society in the reflection of shop windows and by way of traffic signs. By challenging the depth of space and subject, Friedlander’s images portray modern life with the detachment of a collective memory.

In 2007, the State Department commissioned FAPE to contribute a collection of permanent art for USUN. Robert Storr, Chairman of FAPE’s Professional Fine Arts Committee and Dean of the Yale School of Art, was the curator. FAPE and Storr worked closely with the Department and architects, Gwathmey Siegel & Associates, to select locations for art, identifying more than 180 spaces throughout 19 floors.

“For more than 25 years, FAPE has worked with the U.S. Department of State to place American art in embassies around the world, representing the very best of American vision, dynamism, and culture,” said Susan Rice, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. “The eight works donated by Lee Friedlander are a tremendous addition to the USUN Collection and a unique documentation of the American landscape.”

The Collection features three site-specific installations contributed by FAPE. The first was Wall Drawing #832: A red spiral line on blue by Sol LeWitt installed inside the 70-foot-high rotunda located on the 22nd floor. In this same space stands Totem, a nineteen-foot-high sculpture by Ron Gorchov. Two murals by Odili Donald Odita entitled, Light and Vision, greet visitors in the lobby and on the second floor.

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In addition to these, more than 50 of the most preeminent American artists are represented in this important Collection, including: Josef Albers, Jennifer Bartlett, Lynda Benglis, Chuck Close, William Eggleston, Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Barbara Kruger, Martin Puryear, Robert Rauschenberg, Ed Ruscha, Joel Shapiro, Kiki Smith, Frank Stella, Cy Twombly, Carrie Mae Weems, among others.

About Lee Friedlander Lee Friedlander, born in 1934, is an American photographer and artist whose work has documented the social landscape of America since the 1960s. Friedlander studied at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and moved to New York City in 1956 to photograph jazz musicians for record covers. In 1960, he received his first grant from the Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to focus on his art. In 1963, the International Museum of Photography mounted his first solo museum show at George Eastman House. He was awarded The Royal Photographic Society’s Special 150th Anniversary Medal and Honorary Fellowship for his significant contribution to photography in 2003. In 2005, The Museum of Modern Art presented a retrospective of Friedlander’s career, including 400 photographs from the 1950s to present day.

About FAPE FAPE is the leading non-profit organization dedicated to providing permanent works of American art for U.S. embassies worldwide, through site-specific commissions, an original print collection, preservation projects and other arts initiatives. It contributes to the U.S. Department of State’s mission of cultural diplomacy by partnering with American artists whose gifts encourage cross- cultural understanding within the diplomatic community and the international public. All artworks commissioned or placed by FAPE are gifts, representing generosity among some of the country’s greatest artists and donors. As of 2012, FAPE’s donations include permanent works by more than 200 preeminent American artists placed in more than 140 countries.

FAPE was founded in 1986 by Leonore Annenberg, Wendy W. Luers, Lee Kimche McGrath and Carol Price. Its current leadership includes Chairman Jo Carole Lauder, President Eden Rafshoon, Vice President Darren Walker, and Director Jennifer A. Duncan. A volunteer advisory committee chaired by Robert Storr, Dean of the Yale School of Art, selects and commissions all FAPE artists. FAPE underwrites the fabrication and installation, and is exclusively funded through individual donations as well as foundations and corporations.

Further information on FAPE may be found at www.fapeglobal.org.

Media Contacts: For more information on FAPE, images, or to arrange interviews, please contact:

Elizabeth Reina-Longoria or Rachel Patall-David Blue Medium Inc. (212) 675-1800 [email protected] [email protected]

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