Obamas Bring Bold Art to the White House

By Judd Tully

Published: October 8, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C.—In a tradition dating back to the Camelot years of the Kennedy administration, President Barack Obama and first ladyMichelle Obama have cherry-picked artworks from the nation’s federal museums to decorate the family’s private White House quarters.

But instead of stuffy portraits of past presidents and first ladies, the Obamas, working closely with their White House decorator, Los Angeles–based interior designer Michael Smith, chose approximately 36 works — ranging from an Edgar Degas dancer in bronze to an Ed Ruscha word painting — culled from the climate-controlled storage rooms of the National Gallery of Art, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The majority were chosen and installed in the Obamas' personal quarters on the second and third floors of the White House even before they settled into their new home on 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

“The Obamas wanted some great modern and contemporary art in their private quarters,” said Harry Cooper, curator of modern and contemporary art at the National Gallery of Art, who worked in concert with Smith and longtime White House curator Bill Allman to make the necessary selections and arrangements. “They really wanted it from day one.”

Check out some of their selections here, they are very cool:

http://www.artinfo.com/news/photos/1824/17707/