The Diplomatic Reception Room Museum Store
America's Collection: The Art & Architecture of the Diplomatic Reception Rooms at the U.S. Department of State
Presentation Edition with Great Seal Book Box
Tucked inside the State Department's headquarters in the modern Harry S. Truman Building in Washington, D.C. lies a special suite of rooms—gems of classical architecture that house one of the finest collections of American art in the world. The Diplomatic Reception Rooms are the setting where secretaries of state and foreign dignitaries have gathered to conduct diplomacy for more than six decades. These 42 meticulously designed and decorated state rooms and their collection of more than 5,000 exceptional works of art are the subject of this magnificent book. The first volume in 20 years, and only the third ever to explore the subject, it offers the fullest telling to date of how the rooms came to be, their astounding architectural transformation, and the way the rooms, which reflect our country's founding period and ideals, have come to represent our nation as America’s Collection. Featuring a foreword by former Secretary of State John Kerry and essays by prominent curators and cultural writers, the volume explores 150 works as well as interior views never before seen by the public.
This limited edition features a graphite cloth clamshell presentation box bearing the Great Seal of the United States in gold foil. This very special boxed edition is only available from the Department of State.
“This is a long overdue and comprehensive presentation of this nationally significant collection, making it accessible to a wider public audience. It is a high-quality publication that beautifully presents the collection’s impressive artifacts with the attention they deserve.” —Thomas Luebke, Secretary, Commission of Fine Arts
"Who knew that the austere and massive Truman Building at the Department of State contained such magnificent works of art? This beautiful volume describing and displaying these pieces is a work of art in its own right." — Gordon S. Wood, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning Radicalism of the American Revolution and The Creation of the American Republic, 1776–1787
Authors
Virginia B. Hart is director and curator of the Diplomatic Reception Rooms and Bri Brophy is deputy chief curator. The Honorable John F. Kerry is U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, and former U.S. Secretary of State. Allan Greenberg is an architect and author. Mark Alan Hewitt is an architect and architectural historian. Stacy Schiff is a Pulitzer-Prize-winning author. Elizabeth Mankin Kornhauser is the Senior Curator for the 2026 Bicentennial at Frederic Church's home Olana and Curator Emerita of American Paintings and Sculpture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen is the Anthony W. and Lulu C. Wang Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Alexandra Alevizatos Kirtley is the Montgomery-Garvan Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Elliot Bostwick Davis is Senior Editor, Harvard Social Impact Review, Arts and Culture and a former museum curator and director. Deborah Dependahl Waters is an independent decorative arts historian and part-time assistant professor at Parsons, New School University. David M. Rubenstein is a financier and philanthropist. Carolyn Vaughan is a writer and editor of art books and exhibition catalogues. Laaren Brown is a writer and editor for art and natural history topics. Durston Saylor is a photographer of contemporary interior design and architecture. Bruce M. White is a photographer of works of art and historic architecture. Sarah Gifford is an award-winning graphic designer.
| Publish Date | September 5, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Format | Hardcover |
| Publisher | Rizzoli Electa |
| Trim | 9 x 12 |
| Pages | 352 |
| ISBN | 978-0-8478-7388-3 |
