Massive art heist underway in Washington!
Ray Heizer
-- There was a hint of something regarding this in Lucianne's debut column
at her website. At the time I thought she was just jokingly repeating some
of the more outlandish rumors out there (along with the hint of Camp David
being used for lesbian getaway weeknds which Lucianne mentioned in the same
sentence) ...
-- Guess there was more to it than I thought ... This artwork should be the
property of the people or returned to the artists. It was obtained either
in violation of WH policy and/or under false pretenses ... (it's also worth
mentioning for the record that Ann Stock is LD Brown's mother-in-law).
-- Now I am wondering what Lucianne meant about the Camp David stuff ...
...
- -
Hillary¹s crafty way of collecting art
MSNBC
By Jeannette Walls
06/29/1999
June 29 ‹ Some people in the art world are outraged that Hillary Rodham
Clinton solicited some artists¹ work for ³permanent display² in the White
House and now plans to turn the pieces over to the Clinton Library.
IN 1993, HILLARY Clinton¹s social secretary, Ann Stock, approached more
than 70 of the country¹s top artisans, asking them to donate a specific
piece or series of pieces for a collection that would become the first
permanent White House Crafts Collection. The pieces would form part of a
traveling exhibit, Stock told the artisans, and then, unless the artists
wanted them back, they would ³be displayed in a prominent location in the
White House at various events throughout the years.² Artists such as David
W. Levi and Wendell Castle donated pieces ranging in value from $600 to
$20,000.
After the pieces were in hand, however, the first lady was informed that
the White House has a policy that prohibits it from accepting works by
living artists (except for those who paint the portraits of the presidents
and first ladies). Faced with this dilemma, the Clintons decided a perfect
home for the pricey art would be the Clinton Library. ³Eventually, they
will probably go to the Clinton Library,² admitted Julie Mason, a
spokeswoman for Hillary Clinton. When pressed, Mason admitted that was the
only existing plan for them. When asked if the artists were given the
option of having their pieces returned to them, Mason said that option was
given to them at the time the pieces were solicited. ³We asked if they
wanted them back after the tour,² she said, ³and so far, no one has said
yes.² That offer, however, was made when the artists thought the pieces
would go on display at the White House.
³It¹s an outrage,² says a source close to one of the artists. ³It¹s too
awkward to ask a sitting first lady ‹ and maybe a senator ‹ to give back
your artwork. It would be incredibly unseemly, given the circumstances. . .
Nancy Reagan got in trouble for getting a few free dresses. I find this
much more serious.²
Ray Heizer
======================================
Here's three 1993-4 contemporary accounts that puts the current WH spin on
this story to lie:
======================================
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
January 3, 1994 Monday MORNING EDITION
HEADLINE: A NATIONAL TREASURE;
ART: The work of Cal State Fullerton's Frank E. Cummings III has found a
place in the White House and brought national acclaim.
BYLINE: SUE HENGER, Special to the Register
BIG SNIP
Clearly, Cummings is pleased with the heights he and his work
have attained.
"To have my work at such an important venue in New York, where
many, many people will see it, now that is very exciting," he said.
"I'm planning to go back for that event. "
The Year of American Craft
*****
As part of the "The Year of American Craft: A Celebration of the
Creative Works of the Hand" decreed by President Clinton, 70 of the
nation's leading craft artists were asked to donate works to the
first permanent White House craft collection.
*****
After display in the White House, the collection will be moved
to the Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art.
*****
SNIP
===================================
The Buffalo News
December 24, 1993, Friday, City Edition
By Lonnie Hudkins
SNIP
ALMOST GOOFED -- Alfred ceramic artist Andrea Gill earlier in the month
attended a reception in Washington as a guest of President Clinton and
first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. Ms. Gill was one of 65 artists and
craftsmen nationwide who agreed to donate their work to the White House for
use during "The Year of the Craft" and then to have it become a ***** part
of the mansion's permanent art collection ****. She was asked to donate a
large vase.
When an envelope with a White House return address arrived, Ms. Gill, an
associate professor of ceramic art at the School of Art and Design in the
New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, thought it was
just a thank-you note for her decision to donate the vase. It was only
after her sister read a story in the Washington Post mentioning Ms. Gill
and other artists and that they had been invited to a reception that she
decided to take a closer look inside the letter and the card inviting her
to be a guest at the White House. . . .
SNIP
======================================
The Washington Post
December 7, 1993, Tuesday, Final Edition
HEADLINE: Decked Out for Santa Claws At the Clinton White House
SNIP
But the predominant decor throughout the stately mansion, done up in its
garlanded holiday best under the supervision of head White House florist
Nancy Clarke, is a tour de force of American creativity. Varied in size,
texture and design are some 7,500 ornaments made of fiber, ceramic, glass,
metal and wood. They arrived at the White House in mid-October in such
abundance from 3,000 artisans who had been asked to participate that White
House Social Secretary Ann Stock said additional trees were added to
display the overflow.
In addition, the White House is starting a permanent collection of American
crafts for table centerpieces and tier-table decorations. Michael Monroe,
curator-in-charge of the Smithsonian Institution's Renwick Gallery of the
National Museum of American Art, suggested the names of 65 crafts artists
to be approached to donate large pieces in glass, wood, fiber, clay and
metal.
SNIP