Photo: Blair House Reception Honoring Native American Artists Donating Original Artwork to Embassies

The Office of the Chief of Protocol honored five Native American artists at a Blair House reception on Wednesday, November 14, 2007. Chief of Protocol, Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker hosted the event, recognizing artists Norman Akers, Mario Martinez, Larry McNeil, Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, and Marie Watt.  The artists’ original works, commissioned by the National Museum of the American Indian in conjunction with the ART in Embassies program, were unveiled. These works will be distributed to American Embassies throughout the world.

Attendees at the reception included First Lady Mrs. Laura Bush, ambassadors to the U.S. from Western Hemisphere countries, patrons of the ART in Embassies program, patrons of the Native American Museum, and representatives from the Department of State.

The artists worked in conjunction with printers from the Tamarind Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to create this important collection of prints with the goal of broadening international understanding and appreciation for contemporary Native art.

Pictured left to right: Virginia Shore, Senior Curator, ART in Embassies Program, Department of State; Norman Akers (Osage), Artist; First Lady Laura Bush; Kathleen Ash-Milby, Curator, National Museum of the American Indian; Larry McNeil (Tlingit), Artist; and Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker, Chief of Protocol, Department of State. Photo by Chip Clark, Senior Scientific Photographer, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.