Vija Celmins donates Untitled (Web 5) to FAPE’s Original Print Collection Foundation for and Preservation in Embassies Unveils Untitled (Web 5) by Vija Celmins

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 4, 2009 – The Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE), the leading non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the image abroad through American art, announced today that Vija Celmins, acclaimed American artist, has contributed Untitled (Web 5) to its Lee Kimche McGrath Original Print Collection.

HOME Each year, an American artist contributes a print for display in U.S. embassies through the Lee Kimche McGrath Original Print ABOUT Collection. Named for FAPE’s Founding Director, this is FAPE’s oldest program. The Collection began in 1989, when Frank Stella donated The Symphony in an edition large enough for a print to be sent to every American embassy. Since 1995, John PROJECTS Baldessari, Louisiana Bendolph, Mary Lee Bendolph, Loretta Bennett, , , Alex Katz, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy EVENTS Lichtenstein, Elizabeth Murray, Loretta Pettway, Robert Rauschenberg, Susan Rothenberg, and Ed Ruscha have contributed editions. EDUCATION Vija Celmins is the 17th artist to donate to the Collection. Born in Riga, , Celmins immigrated to the United States when NEWS she was 10 years old. After earning her BFA and MFA in , she received international attention for her renditions of MEMBERSHIP & natural scenes early in her career. Celmins has since mastered several mediums including oil painting, charcoal and multiple SUPPORT printmaking processes, and is recognized for her ability to capture limitless space with uncanny accuracy.

CONTACT Untitled (Web 5) is based on a spider web theme commonly seen in the artist’s work. “This spider image was one I found about ten years ago and first painted in the year 2000. The mezzotint is a medium which is perfect for making a gradation of grays,” said Celmins. “I like the way the web seems to be holding the edges of the print, and how it seems also to have caught the light in its grasp.”

SPONSOR “The Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies is honored to add Vija’s print to the Lee Kimche McGrath Original Print Collection. America’s diverse cultural heritage thrives thanks to artists like Vija, who have emigrated from countries all over the world,” said Jo Carole Lauder, Chairman of the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies. “Through these artists’ gifts, FAPE is building a timeless collection of art for future generations.”

The Lee Kimche McGrath Original Print Collection is valued at over $6 million, and each print has been donated by the artist to FAPE. Celmins’ will officially unveil her work at FAPE’s State Department dinner on Monday, May 11, 2009, in Washington, D.C.

About Vija Celmins Vija Celmins was born in Riga, Latvia, in 1938. Celmins immigrated to the United States with her family when she was ten years old, settling in Indiana. She received a BFA from the John Herron Institute in , and later earned her MFA in painting from the University of California, Los Angeles. Celmins received international attention early on for her renditions of natural scenes—often copied from photographs that lack a point of reference, horizon, or discernable depth of field. A master of several mediums, including oil painting, charcoal, and multiple printmaking processes, Celmins matches a tangible sense of space with sensuous detail in each work.

In 1996, Celmins received an American Academy of and Letters Award, and, in 1997, a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship. Retrospectives of her work have traveled to the Whit