December 2024 Newsletter

PIECES OF PEACE.

November 2024 Newsletter

Honor. Dishonor. A Pass

Clarice Smith’s Paintings Featured in “American Art Accelerating Democracy” Exhibition at U.S. Embassy Residence in Paris

The U.S. Department of State’s Office of Art in Embassies and U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Sean Patrick Maloney announce the opening of a special exhibition, The Art in Embassies Collections Exhibition: American Art Accelerating Diplomacy, with French and American cultural leaders at the historic Weber House in Paris.

During each four-year presidential cycle, nearly 200 new American ambassadors are appointed to represent the United States around the world. Ambassadors work with Art in Embassies to create custom exhibitions for their residences with loaned or gifted works. “American Art Accelerating Diplomacy” is curated entirely from new special collections lent by U.S. cultural leaders dedicated to advancing art diplomacy. These special Art in Embassies Democracy Collections are large groups of works under long-term blanket loans, allowing renowned American artworks to be immediately available for ambassador residence art exhibitions around the world.

“I see firsthand how the art exhibition in this residence drives conversations, inspires ideas, and sparks connection,” Ambassador Maloney said. “It is humbling, to think this critical program has survived for over sixty years relying on the generosity of lenders and artists who share their talents and artworks to support U.S. cultural diplomacy through these important exhibitions. This exhibition at the Weber House is our way of saying thanks.”

“Democracy is not a spectator sport, and the lenders of these Democracy Collections have jumped in to help tell unique American stories of diversity, immigrant tenacity, and deeply ingrained values of equality,” said Megan Beyer, Director of Art in Embassies. “As you take in this exhibition, the American story is everywhere.”

“American Art Accelerating Democracy,” like all Art in Embassies exhibitions, is only possible because of the generosity of cultural partners. The Wolf Kahn Collection offers works by Kahn, who as a young Jewish boy in Germany escaped by Kindertransport to ultimately reside in the United States; the Gene Davis Estate Collection includes his signature, large-scale classic striped paintings from the sixties and smaller paintings from his pre-stripe era; the Creative Growth Collection features works by artists with developmental disabilities; the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art Collection at the University of Oklahoma provides twentieth-century American paintings depicting the American Southwest; and in partnership with the American Academy in Rome, the exhibition features two paintings by Chuck Close, whose work was associated with his neurological, developmental, and physical challenges.

The family of one exhibition artist made this special exhibition possible. David Bruce Smith, President, Grateful American Foundation, the son of artist Clarice Smith, was the first to offer artworks under these special long-term loans. The Clarice Smith Collection consists of works that reflect her life. A painter from Virginia, Smith spent significant time in France and was a devout advocate for cultural diplomacy. Her paintings depict the verdant Provence, stunning Riviera, and life in the Virginia countryside. Like tens of thousands of artists across America, her loaned paintings have helped to keep Art in Embassies alive for over sixty years.

Photographs by Chantal Mistral

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About OECD

The OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) is a forum and knowledge hub for data, analysis, and best practices in public policy. OECD works with over 100 countries across the world to build stronger, fairer, and cleaner societies–helping to shape better policies for better lives.

About Art in Embassies 

Envisioned by the Museum of Modern Art in 1953 and formalized by John F. Kennedy a decade later, Art in Embassies is an official visual arts office within the U.S. Department of State. For six decades, Art in Embassies has played a leading role in U.S. public diplomacy through a focused mission on generating cross-cultural dialogue through exhibitions, permanent collections, site-specific commissions, and two-way artist exchanges at more than 200 U.S. embassies, consulates, and partner institutions around the world.

Art in Embassies showcases the innovation and cultural prowess of the United States and fosters cross-cultural connections. Each ambassador representing the United States in each nation has their own custom-curated exhibition to support their specific diplomatic agenda.

Stuart H. Brody’s “Humphrey and Me” Wins the 2024 Grateful American Book Prize

ARLINGTON, Va. – Oct. 7, 2024 – “Humphrey and Me” [Santa Monica Press], a novel by Stuart H. Brody, has won the 2024 Grateful American Book Prize, according to co-founder David Bruce Smith.

Andrea Barrett, the National Book Award-winning author of “Ship Fever,” praised Brody’s book—about his relationship with the vice-president—for being ” …a heartfelt account of a crucial period in American history … that sometimes seems lost today,” while Kirkus Reviews, said it illuminated “An important chapter in American History told with clarity and honesty.”

Honorable Mentions will go to Lea Lyon’s “The Double V Campaign: African Americans Fighting for Freedom at Home and Abroad” [Rowman & Littlefield Publishers], a powerful story of fighting for change and equality, —and—to the artfully written-illustrated “Plague-Busters!: Medicine’s Battles with History’s Deadliest Diseases” [Bloomsbury] by Lindsey Fitzharris and Adrian Teal.

Smith believes “if you give a student a good read, he or she will become curious, and—perhaps—start investigating the history of the nation, and grow into a productive, civically-minded citizen.”

An author and an education advocate, Smith co-founded the Grateful American Book Prize in 2015 with the late Dr. Bruce Cole, the longest-serving chair [2001 through 2009] of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The annual book prize comes with $13,000 to commemorate the original 13 Colonies; a lifetime membership to the New-York Historical Society, and a medallion created by Smith’s mother, the renowned artist, Clarice Smith.

It is given for high quality—7th through 9th grade level—historical fiction, non-fiction, and biographies, that depict the events and personalities which have influenced the United States since its founding.

The Honorable Mention recipients receive $500 each, and the medallion.

October 2024 Newsletter

Historical Tempests Through the Ages

September 2024 Newsletter

A Meaningful Return to Character

August 2024 Newsletter

Remembered Elegance.

July 2024 Newsletter

Humility in History

Clarice Smith’s Paintings Featured in Art in Embassies Inaugural “Democracy Collection”

A repository containing 59 of Clarice Smith’s paintings has been chosen for the inaugural “Democracy Collection” for the US State Department’s Art in Embassies (AIE) program. These works will be on an extended loan with the State Department and made available to US Ambassadors for display in their embassies and residences throughout the world.

This important program was created by President John F. Kennedy in 1963 to enhance ‘art’ diplomacy. The purpose of Art in Embassies is to create vital world-wide cross-cultural dialogue and to foster mutual understanding through the visual arts. Clarice Smith was an avid supporter of the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE) which reinforces the AIE program. View the Clarice Smith Collection.

For more information about the “Democracy Collection” visit the website.

June 2024 Newsletter

Places.

Kitchen Shelf

May 2024 Newsletter

April 2024 Newsletter

ART

Clarice Smith’s Paintings on Display at University House

University House, the official campus residence for the University of Maryland president and their family, is displaying 12 paintings by renowned artist Clarice Smith. The works on canvas include some of the artist’s favorite subjects and locations including Venice, the South of France, and New York City. Also included are equestrian paintings, florals, and abstracts. There is a self-portrait, plus a portrait of her husband, Robert H. Smith. The artwork will be on view through December 31, 2025.

Clarice Smith was born and educated in Washington, DC. She attended the University of Maryland and received a BA and MFA from George Washington University, where she was also a member of the Art Department faculty from 1980-1987. In 2012, she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts by George Washington University to mark her distinguished career in the arts; three years later, she got a doctorate of Humane Letters from the University of Maryland.

The University of Maryland President Pines and Mrs. Pines, in partnership with David Bruce Smith, are proud to have several of her works displayed at University House, so that they may be enjoyed by visitors and serve as a reminder of Mrs. Smith’s remarkable contributions.

 

Venice by Clarice Smith on display at University House

Plates by Clarice Smith

 

Croissant by Clarice Smith

 

 

Portrait of Robert H. Smith at His Desk with a Silver Tray and Self Portrait by Clarice Smith

 

 

 

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University House Interior Photos by John Consoli

March 2024 Newsletter

GALLOP AND GRACE AT THE BIG RACE

 

Self Portrait

Now at University House, University of Maryland. more

Venice

Now at University House, University of Maryland. more

Allee

Now at University House, University of Maryland. more

Plates

Now at University House, University of Maryland. more

Stroll on Fifth Avenue

Now at University House, University of Maryland. more

Daffodils by a Stream

Now at University House, University of Maryland. more

Rainy Day Race

Now at University House, University of Maryland. more

Steeplechase

Now at University House, University of Maryland. more

Portrait of Robert H. Smith at His Desk with a Silver Tray

Now at University House, University of Maryland. more

Croissant

Now at University House, University of Maryland. more

Big Race: The Contemporary Vision of Clarice Smith Members Reception

The National Sporting Library and Museum celebrated the opening of Big Race: The Contemporary Vision of Clarice Smith at a members reception on February 10, 2024.

 

 

 

Photos by Nancy Milburn Kleck

Clarice Smith: Power and Grace

Clarice Smith: Power and Grace by Clarice Smith, Claudia Pfeiffer, Melanie Leigh Mathewes offers a comprehensive range of the artist’s equestrian subjects. This is the lushly illustrated catalog accompanying an exhibit at the National Sporting Library & Museum that spans over thirty years with almost forty paintings from the early 1980s to the present.

The catalog is available for purchase from the National Sporting Library & Museum.

Clarice Smith:
Power & Grace

February 2024 Newsletter

TRADITION

Remembering Clarice Smith by Claudia Pfeiffer

Claudia Pfeiffer, the Deputy Director and George L. Ohrstrom, Jr. Curator at the National Sporting Library & Museum, recalls her collaborations with artist Clarice Smith in Drawing Covert, the National Sporting Library & Museum’s bi-weekly blog.

“There are people you meet in your life who change you. Clarice Smith was one of those people. …” more

Big Race: The Contemporary Vision of Clarice Smith, a focus gallery is on view through March 31, 2024.

Big Race

Big Race, 2001, the largest painting in the focus gallery is the inspiration for the exhibit Big Race: The Contemporary Vision of Clarice Smith at the National Sporting Library & Museum, Jan 11, 2024 – Mar 31, 2024.

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Melvin and Ryna Cohen and the Funger Foundation, Norma Lee and Morton Funger

Le Vainqueur

Featured in the National Sporting Library & Museum exhibit Big Race: The Contemporary Vision of Clarice Smith, Jan 11, 2024 – Mar 31, 2024

“Big Race: The Contemporary Vision of Clarice Smith” at the National Sporting Library & Museum

The National Sporting Library & Museum (NSLM) is pleased to announce Big Race: The Contemporary Vision of Clarice Smith, a focus gallery contemplating the impact that Clarice Smith’s (American, 1933–2021) artistic vision had on equine art. On view from January 11, 2024 to January 16, 2026, four compelling paintings by the artist are on loan to complement the three dimensional horse racing screen in the National Sporting Library & Museum’s collection. “I see the horse as a dynamic beautiful form; a combination of power and grace,” noted Smith in 2014.

Gallop, 2009, a 5-panel screen, was donated by the artist after her solo exhibition of over 30 artworks at the NSLM in 2014, Clarice Smith: Power & Grace. It depicts horses neck-and-neck and thundering hooves rushing at the viewer in a halo of vibrant burnt sienna and flying gold and copper metallic dirt. This screen melding Smith’s fine art into a three-dimensional object is the only one she created with this subject matter.

To provide context to the screen, three of the paintings are generously on loan from the artist’s son, David Bruce Smith, the founder and president of The Grateful American Foundation: Le Vainqueur, 1995; Dead Heat, 1999; and Leaving the Gate, 2011. The largest painting in the focus gallery is a 36 1⁄2 x 76 1⁄2-inch oil on canvas from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM). It is titled, simply, Big Race, 2001, and is the inspiration for the exhibit.

These artworks were all selected by George L. Ohrstrom, Jr. Deputy Director & Head Curator Claudia Pfeiffer to highlight Smith’s depictions of racing. Pfeiffer interviewed the artist extensively for the 2014 NSLM exhibition and its accompanying catalogue and wrote, “Motivated by a moment and the challenge of exploring new and innovative ways of approaching a composition, she [Smith] returns to her racing scenes with changing perspectives and variations in palette;” Pfeiffer continued, “Choices for jockey silk patterns and colors are usually not literal interpretations but rather the design of a color scheme, and her horses are composites against made-up backgrounds.”

“I paint my life,” Smith often noted. The contemporary artist first became known for her figurative, floral, and landscape subject matter. She began incorporating equine art into her oeuvre in 1983 when she and her husband, Robert H. Smith, purchased Heronwood Farm in Upperville, VA, and a portion of the Upperville Colt and Horse Show grounds, which they maintained for over 30 years. He developed a Thoroughbred breeding program, and they also regularly attended American, British, and French horse sales and races. These experiences led Clarice Smith to incorporate her stylized portrayals of motion and figurative portraiture into equine and equestrian subject matter.

When painting, Smith consciously fused different artistic inspirations into her own unique expression of motion, texture, light, and color—all informed by her classical training. She studied at George Washington University where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in studio art. She became a faculty member in their Art Department in 1980, remaining in that position until 1987.

Smith’s career as a contemporary artist spanned over four decades with exhibitions at numerous museums and galleries including the Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska; Museum of Art, Tampa, Florida; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA; the New-York Historical Society Museum & Library; and National Museum of Women in the Arts, Cosmos Club, and the Kreeger Museum, all in Washington, D.C. In 2012, she was awarded an honorary doctorate of fine arts from George Washington University, and in 2015, she received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from University of Maryland, for her achievements.

The NSLM’s Chair Dr. Manuel H. Johnson noted of Smith’s racing imagery, “Artists like Clarice Smith remind us that sporting art is a genre neither undertaken nor understood only by sporting enthusiasts, nor is it relegated to the past.”

A Members Reception will be held on Saturday, February 10, 2024, from 5:30–7:30 pm. To join membership at the NSLM to attend, or to RSVP if you are already a member, please contact Development & Events Manager Emily Tye at etye@nationalsporting.org or 540-687-6542 x 26.

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The National Sporting Library & Museum is located in Middleburg, VA, the heart of beautiful horse country. Founded in 1954, the renowned research Library and fine art Museum highlight the rich heritage and tradition of country pursuits. Angling, horsemanship, shooting, steeplechasing, foxhunting, flat racing, polo, coaching, and wildlife are among the subjects one can explore in the organization’s general stacks, rare book holdings, archives, and art collection. The NSLM offers a wide variety of educational programs, exhibitions, and family activities throughout the year, and is open to researchers and the public. There is no admission fee to the Library. The Museum charges $10 for adults, $8 for youths (age 13–18), and $8 for seniors. NSLM members and children age 12 and under are admitted free of charge. Library & Museum hours are Thursday–Sunday 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.

January 2024 Newsletter

ALL OF THEM ARE GONE

Art in Embassies Wraps up 60th anniversary with Democracy Collections

Art in Embassies (AIE) Director Megan Beyer (right) and Chief Curator Camille Benton (left) announced new art collections at the 60th anniversary celebration dinner of AIE, Sept. 19. The donated collections are under blanket long-term loans and will be available for immediate delivery to chief of mission residences as new U.S. ambassadors head to post. The Clarice Smith Collection is offered by the artist’s son, David Bruce Smith, and the Creative Growth Collection is offered by a non-profit that supports artists with developmental disabilities. These collections, and others like them, will advance art diplomacy at U.S. embassies around the globe. more in State Magazine

 

December 2023 Newsletter

The 2024 Grateful American Book Prize is accepting entries

The 2024 Grateful American Book Prize is now accepting submissions. They should be books of non-fiction, fiction, or biographies suitable for 7^th to 9^th graders, published between August 1, 2023 and July 31, 2024.

“Over the past several decades schools have gradually de-emphasized history in the classroom with the result that kids today do not know who George Washington and Benjamin Franklin were,” according to David Bruce Smith, Co-founder of the Prize. “It’s been a lingering problem for quite some time and so, at the behest and in collaboration with the late Dr. Bruce Cole, the former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, we established the Prize as an incentive for authors and publishers to focus on history for young readers. As Dr. Cole put it, ‘we are a country of historical amnesiacs’ and perhaps historical ‘page turners’ for kids may be just what the doctor ordered.”

The Prize comes with a $13,000 cash award in commemoration of the 13 original Colonies, a lifetime membership at the New-York Historical Society, and a medallion created by Smith’s mother, the renowned artist, Clarice Smith.

Honorable Mention recipients receive a cash award of $500 each, and the medallion.

Submit your book via the online submission form.

November 2023 Newsletter

WAR HAS NO CONSCIENCE

Art in Embassies Announces The Clarice Smith Collection

U.S. Department of State – Media Note
October 19, 2023

As the United States approaches its 250th year, the State Department’s Art in Embassies program is working with cultural institutions, artists, families, and galleries to curate art collections that promote U.S. diplomacy.

The first collection, The Clarice Smith Collection, comprises 72 artworks by Washington, D.C.-based artist Clarice Smith. These pieces encompass portraits, landscapes, and still-lifes rendered in oil, pastel, and watercolor. They will immediately become available for exhibit in U.S. embassies and Ambassadors’ residences under long-term loan agreements.

Clarice Smith, a passionate advocate for U.S. diplomacy, supported cultural diplomacy through Art in Embassies’ partner, the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE). Additionally, she collaborated with her son, David Bruce Smith, on a series of engaging biographies introducing young students to leading figures who played pivotal roles in shaping our democracy.

Art in Embassies Director Megan Beyer and Chief Curator Camille Benton announced the Collection during Art in Embassies’ 60th anniversary dinner with ambassadors and cultural leaders at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

The Clarice Smith Collection is made possible by David Bruce Smith’s Grateful American Foundation.

The Office of Art in Embassies, established in 1963, plays a crucial role in U.S. public diplomacy, connecting nations through curated exhibitions. It showcases the innovation and cultural prowess of the United States and fosters cross-cultural connections.

For more information about Art in Embassies, visit art.state.gov. Press inquiries can be sent to Megan Beyer at BeyerMC@state.gov.

View The Clarice Smith Collection

Clarice Smith’s Paintings Chosen for the Art in Embassies Inaugural “Democracy Collection”

A repository containing 72 of Clarice Smith’s paintings has been chosen for the Clarice Smith Collection, the inaugural “Democracy Collection” for the US Department of State’s Office of Art in Embassies (AIE). These paintings will be on long-term loan with the State Department to be made available to US Ambassadors for display in their embassies and residences throughout the world. This important office is celebrating its 60th year in existence and was created by President John F. Kennedy in 1963. The purpose of Art in Embassies is to create vital world-wide cross-cultural dialogue and to foster mutual understanding through the visual arts. Clarice Smith was an avid supporter of the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE) which reinforces the AIE mission.

The Clarice Smith Collection and the long-term loan were announced by Megan Beyer, the director of the office, and Camille Benton, the chief curator, on September 19, 2023, at the Art in Embassies dinner celebration at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

For more information visit the  “Democracy Collection” website.

Video >>

“Mattie and the Machine”
by Lynn Ng Quezon Wins 2023 Grateful American Book Prize

WASHINGTON, DC, October 3, 2023 — Mattie and the Machine [Santa Monica Press], a debut novel by Lynn Ng Quezon, has been selected to receive the 2023 Grateful American Book Prize, according to co-founder David Bruce Smith.

The Santa Monica Press called it “a fictionalized yet historically accurate account of Margaret E. Knight’s fight to obtain recognition as a 19th century female inventor,” while The Kirkus Reviews described it as “an intriguing story about a little-known woman…one of the first women inventors in the post-Civil War era,” and Marissa Meyer of the New York Times said it was “a surprisingly twisty tale, full of betrayal, romance, grit, friendships, machinery, and a protagonist you can’t help rooting for!”

Sheila Turnage’s Island of Spies, a riveting World War II spy mystery, and Sara Latta’s biography, I Could Not Do Otherwise: The Remarkable Life of Dr. Mary Edwards Walker–an early female physician/spy–will receive “Honorable Mentions.”

Smith, also an author, and an education advocate, founded the Grateful American Book Prize with the late Dr. Bruce Cole, the longest-serving chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities [2001 to 2009].

It comes with $13,000 in commemoration of the 13 Colonies; a lifetime membership at the New-York Historical Society, and a medallion created by Smith’s mother, the renowned artist, Clarice Smith.

The ”Honorable Mention” recipients get $500 each, and the medallion.

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The Grateful American Book Prize is awarded each year to high quality, 7th to 9th grade-level, historical fiction, and non-fiction, about the events and personalities that have shaped the United States since its founding.

October 2023 Newsletter

CRONKITE’S COURAGE

September 2023 Newsletter

SHOOT THE MOON

August 2023 Newsletter

JUSTICE ALWAYS TRIUMPHS

July 2023 Newsletter

A LOOK TO LIBERTY

June 2023 Newsletter

PRELUDE TO PROGRESS

Suffragettes

Suffragettes, a triptych stained glass mural by artist Clarice Smith, at the New-York Historical Society.

 

 

May 2023 Newsletter

Submit Your Book for the 2023 Grateful American Book Prize

The 2023 Grateful American Book Prize is now accepting submissions. They should be works of non-fiction, fiction, or biographies suitable for 7th to 9th graders, published between August 1, 2022, and July 31, 2023.

“Over the past several decades schools have gradually de-emphasized history in the classroom with the result that kids today do not know who George Washington and Benjamin Franklin were,” according to David Bruce Smith, Co-founder of the Prize. “It’s been a lingering problem for quite some time and so, at the behest and in collaboration with the late Dr. Bruce Cole, the former Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities, we established the Prize as an incentive for authors and publishers to focus on history for young readers. As Dr. Cole put it, ‘we are a country of historical amnesiacs’ and perhaps historical ‘page turners’ for kids may be just what the doctor ordered.”

The Prize comes with $13,000 in commemoration of the 13 original Colonies, a lifetime membership at the New-York Historical Society, and a medallion created by Smith’s mother, the renowned artist, Clarice Smith. Honorable Mention recipients receive $500 each, and the medallion.

Submit your book via the online submission form.

April 2023 Newsletter

LOVELY LADIES

Self-Portrait
à la Ingres

David

Michael

Stacy

DC History Center Interview with Artist Clarice Smith by Jane F. Levey

During 2020 the DC History Center was privileged to conduct oral history interviews with Mrs. Smith and David Bruce Smith to capture her story of growing up in Washington. Although she lived in Virginia later in life, she always considered herself a Washingtonian. “If someone asks me where I’m from, I say Washington” she said. “I think it’s a perfect place to live.

Read the full interview on DC History Center’s website  >