The ultimate flattery is having readers of my blog call our office to make sure I am feeling well out of concern that the absence of recent entries suggested otherwise.  I THANK YOU for your concern.  I know how busy everyone is and it is a supremely thoughtful gesture.  In fact, I am feeling quite well but I do need a vacation and happily, tomorrow it begins.  We have all been busy working on important planning for the Monuments Men Foundation growth and a tremendous investment of time and funds in the creation of the Educational Program now well underway involving The Rape of Europa documentary film.  This is a national effort due to our educational team and Advisory Board members being spread out across the country not to mention their summer travel, so the coordination of these efforts has been quite time consuming.  We are at this stage very pleased with the work we have assembled and that of the educators.  The end result will be a significant development and milestone in how we go about the teaching of cultural property, art, the Holocaust, war, and of course the heroes of the story—all those who worked so selflessly to protect our cultural treasures. 

So I am off tomorrow for a short vacation with my son who shortly begins a new school in a new city and state.  I hope to return rested and ready to finish several critical projects along with resuming a heavy lecture schedule in the fall.  I will resume writing blog entries September 1st and until then, please have a great rest of the summer and be safe.

Sherman Lee

1918 - 2008

A renowned expert on Asian art, Sherman Lee served as a Lieutenant in the Naval reserve from 1944 until 1946, when he began working as an advisor to the MFAA in Tokyo. Unlike in Europe, the Monuments Men were not sent to Japan until after hostilities ended in 1945, and even then there were only a handful of Monuments Men and several Japanese assistants and colleagues charged with inspecting cultural property across Japan. Their mission was to inventory all Japanese art and monuments, including buildings, gardens, and national parks, to evaluate war damage, and also to promote exhibitions of Japanese art and living artists. Through Lee’s negotiations with the Japanese government, the collection of the Shosoin Imperial Repository in Nara was exhibited publicly in 1947 for the first time in history.

Lee used the experience of working as a Monuments Man in Japan to further his career as well, "I took every opportunity to avail myself of the chance, and such knowledge as I now possess I owe to our Japanese representatives in the field." In recognition of his service, the Japanese Government awarded Lee the Order of the North Star and the Order of the Sacred Treasure. He also received the Legion of Honor.

(photograph by Yousuf Karsh)

Prior to his military service, Sherman received both his Bachelors and Masters of Arts from American University, and his Doctorate degree from Case Western University in 1941. He became Curator of Far Eastern Art at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1941. From 1948 until 1952 he taught at the University of Washington and also was Associate Director at the Seattle Art Museum. In 1952, Lee began his long career as Chief Curator of Oriental Art, Assistant Director, and Associate Director, becoming Director in 1958. As director, he greatly expanded all areas of the museum’s collection, and highlighted the role of educational programs, adding an education wing in 1971. Lee retired from the Cleveland Museum in 1983 and began teaching as an adjunct professor of art history at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The Ruth and Sherman Lee Institute for Japanese Art was founded in his honor at the Clark Center near Fresno, California.

(Visiting with Sherman Lee in 2006. Robert M. Edsel Collection)

Sherman Lee is survived by his wife, Ruth, daughter Katherine Lee Reid, former director of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Elizabeth Lee Chiego and her husband Bill, Director of the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio, and Margaret Gray Bachenheimer, and one son, Thomas Weaver Lee.

The legacy of the world’s greatest theft during World War II by Hitler and the Nazis remains with us in so many tangible ways. Few reminders are more stark than looking at an auction catalogue from Sotheby’s or Christie’s. Rarely is there a sale of any magnitude that doesn’t include at least one painting or other work of art stolen by the Nazis at some point in time during their chokehold on Western Europe. Most of those times the painting was stolen for Adolph Hitler’s planned Führer Museum in Linz.

There are two major events that occur in London each July, both of which are near and dear to my interests. The first is, of course, The All England Championships, or Wimbledon as it is more widely known. The other are the Old Master Sales at Sotheby’s and Christie’s which always follow the week after bringing most all the painting dealers from around the world together as well as many private collectors. These sales are particularly interesting this year as Sotheby’s has four paintings for sale that were looted during World War II, all subsequently restituted and now being sold by the current owners, while Christie’s has one. (These numbers pertain to their “main event” evening sales respectively; there may be other examples in their lesser sales.)

The phrases included in the provenance listings are enough to curl your blood: “Confiscated by the Nazi authorities in 1939 for the planned Führer Museum in Linz”; “Looted during the Second World War”; “Forced Sale of Liquidation Stock”; “Secured by the Nazi authorities and confiscated by the Vugesta (the Gestapo looting authority)”; and “Confiscated by the Russian Army”. I underscore that all paintings were subsequently restituted to their rightful owners, some shortly after the war, others only recently. But this underscores the current nature of this remarkable period in history as items once considered the prize of the Nazi thieves reenter the commercial market voluntarily rather than under threat or theft. These are exciting times.

Anne d’Harnoncourt, the world famous and beloved director of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, died quite unexpectedly Sunday evening at her home in Philadelphia. She was just 64 years of age. Art and culture were imbued in her soul.

Rene, her father, was not only a painter and scholar on Mexican and Native American art, but also served as the director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City from 1949-1968. Anne earned her master’s degree from the Courtauld Institute, where she was a classmate of my dear friend, Ted Pillsbury. Ted went on to greatness as the director of the Yale Center for British Art and later the Kimbell, while Anne worked briefly at the Tate Gallery before beginning her storied career in Philadelphia in 1967 as an assistant. After a brief stint as the assistant curator of 20th century art at the Art Institute in Chicago, Anne returned to Philadelphia where in 1982 she became the museum’s director and eventual CEO.

During her tenure she did it all, designing innovative installations, developing blockbuster exhibitions that staked a permanent claim for the city of Philadelphia among the elite of art museums in our Nation, and energizing a donor base who in turn oversaw astonishing growth of this remarkable institution. She walked with kings and paupers with equal comfort and understood the museum’s responsibility to appeal to all citizens of the city–those that loved art as well as those yet to discover it. All the while, she preserved the time honored tradition of — and continually redefined respect for — the object. "What we want is for new things to be great of their kind, and for each new work to have conversations with the rest of the collection."

I was in Philadelphia Monday and Tuesday at the invitation of National Endowment for the Humanities’ Chairman Dr. Bruce Cole and the ongoing roll-out of the PICTURING AMERICA program. As often happens the greatest supporters of the arts are also those first in line to assist Dr. Cole and the NEH’s innovative programs. Thus it was no surprise to meet a remarkable group of volunteers and civic leaders at the truly one-of-a-kind home of Martha McGeary Snider, where I was asked to briefly speak about the Monuments Men. It was, however, a bittersweet occasion.

Everyone had tears in their eyes over the loss of Anne d’Harnoncourt. Everyone. The measure of loss was palpable and hung over yesterday’s otherwise great PICTURING AMERICA ceremony. Several people I met could not speak as the wound was so great. Indeed, Anne’s loss is truly immeasurable. Few people are truly irreplaceable: she is an exception. Her passing highlights the crisis in our museum leadership ranks, a subject I will be addressing in a lengthy blog next week.

The great city of Philadelphia, which Anne loved so much, will recover, and in time her legacy advanced by the same group of supporters she cultivated and who cultivated her over many years. But those challenges ahead belong to tomorrows. Today we mourn the loss of this great friend and champion of the arts.

Our nation’s extraordinary gallery of works of art is blessed in so many ways. The most recently built of the world’s great national museums, it contains an encyclopedic collection of paintings, sculpture, drawings, prints and many other cultural items. But many people do not know it also serves as the custodian for important select documents which it has received through gift or bequest over the years. The documents of greatest interest to me are of course the papers of some of the Monuments Men and women, many of whom worked at the National Gallery during some part of their career. In fact, the National Gallery and its staff served as the headquarters for the early work which led to the Roberts Commission from which emanated the Monuments Men.

I was at the research facility for almost a week recently conducting research for my next book on the Monuments Men. The research area is wonderful to work in and incredibly well organized. Headed by a team of experts in document preservation — Maygene Daniels, Anne Ritchie, Michele Willens and Jean Henry, our work was greatly aided by their thorough preparation for our visit. As taxpayers, we have a lot of benefits for the money we pay that may not be obvious when writing that check to the Internal Revenue Service. Use of our National Gallery and the admission price — IT’S FREE — are but one great example.

While there I was comfortably ensconced in a beautiful wooden chair. Only on the fourth day did I actually stop for a moment to examine it. Wouldn’t you know: it, too, was gift of the Mellon family in 1999. Their benevolence and generosity to our nation is truly immeasurable. Paul Mellon’s father, Andrew Mellon, not only developed the idea for a national museum, he also donated the funds ($10 million in the 1930’s!!!) needed to build it. There was more: he donated his incomparable collection to the nation which now graces the building’s beautiful rooms. Realizing the critical needs at that formative stage, Andrew used his contacts and influence to encourage the nation’s other great collectors — Sam Kress, Joseph Widener, and Chester Dale — to donate their collections to the nation too.

I was hardly surprised then when I saw the plaque nearby that told me about these great chairs…and what an appropriate part of history they play in this great institution.

Thanks to the open generosity of the National Gallery Archives team with our work.

(Mrs. Edith O’Donnell, Ms. Serena Rich, Director of Arts Program at O’Donnell Foundation, and NEH Chairman Dr. Bruce Cole at the Nasher Sculpture Garden for the announcement of Picturing America.)

On April 16 I was proud to be the master of ceremony at the Nasher Sculpture Garden in Dallas for the announcement of the National Endowment for the Humanities newest educational initiative, Picturing America. NEH Chairman Bruce Cole, Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, Loriene Roy, President of American Library Association, Dr. Michael Hinojosa, Superintendent of Schools of Dallas Independent School District, and others participated in the ceremony to introduce this exciting program. In fact, Dallas was the very first city of six (Atlanta, New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia and San Francisco) to receive this program.

Picturing America will provide forty iconic American images - from Gilbert Stuart’s incredible painting of George Washington crossing the Delaware to James Karales’s unforgettable photograph of the 1965 civil rights march to Selma. These forty images plus lesson plans and teacher’s guides will be gifted to schools and libraries across the nation at no cost! By the day of our announcement, more than 30,000 schools had already applied to receive Picturing America.

This creative program brings museums and art galleries into the classrooms of our nation’s schools by affording kids and their teachers the opportunity to experience images works of art in a first hand, tactile way. It creates an innovative solution to the practical difficulties of getting all our school kids into museums to be exposed to these masterpieces. (To learn more about the Picturing America program please click on the following link: http://picturingamerica.neh.gov.

The NEH has allocated substantial funds to enable thousands of schools to receive Picturing America at no cost. However, like all organizations, the NEH doesn’t have limitless capital. For that reason, the ability to fund this great program for all schools and libraries that apply will ultimately depend on private donors. Wealthy cities such as Dallas have the resource base to seek and obtain such financial support: many smaller towns and communities in our country do not. For that reason, I was so please that the O’Donnell Foundation of Dallas stepped forward to make an important donation to the National Trust for the Humanities to help underwrite Picturing America. Edith and Peter O’Donnell have been such great philanthropist to our nation, in particular in the arts and educational arena. I hope their act of wisdom and generosity encourages others to come forward and support this wonderful program.

For those interested in learning how they can help support Picturing America please contact Ms. Mindy Berry, Senior Advisor to the Chairman, at mberry@neh.gov.

(Another happy day with my friend, Dr. Bruce Cole.)

Yesterday I addressed an audience of about 150 people as part of a symposium entitled "Protecting the Past: the Fate of Cultural Property in Times of Armed Conflict". It was befitting that this event was held at the headquarters of the National Trust for the Historic Preservation. In addition to the important role that organization plays in the preservation of our nation’s cultural history, the building was once an elegant apartment for Andrew Mellon, in my view our nation’s most benevolent patron of the arts.

It was a great honor to join my friend Lynn Nicholas and other speakers who included András J. Riedlmayer, Bibliographer in Aga Khan Program for Islamic Architecture in Harvard’s Fine Arts Library, who discussed the destruction of cultural property during the Balkan Wars of the 1990’s, Hays Parks, U.S. Department of Defense, and a decorated Veteran himself, who made an excellent presentation on the 1954 Hague Convention, Corine Wegener, President, U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield, who served in Iraq in the aftermath of the looting of the National Museum and is herself a modern day "Monuments Man", John Russell, Professor, Massachusetts College of Art, who also served in Iraq as an advisor to the Iraqi Ministry of Culture, and Richard Jackson, a retired Army Colonel who is now the Special Assistant to the Judge Advocate General for Law of War Matters.

This great group of experts, brought together by The Lawyer’s Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation, Andrews and Kurth law firm, and the George Washington University Museum Studies Program, put on a heck of a show. I took 18 pages of notes and learned much more detail about the pervasiveness of this problem in past and present conflicts. It was sad in so many ways to see how painfully expensive the cost to our nation and civilization as a whole for not heeding the lessons learned by the Monuments Men during World War II However, I remain hopeful because of the people I met who are deeply committed to seeing improvements in our performance as a nation and as a member of the global community in this vitally important area.

A copy of my remarks follows:

(Lynn Nicholas, Thomas Kline, and me)

THE MONUMENTS MEN: HEROES OF CIVILIZATION

Let it be said that the telling of history is a never-ending relay race run at inconsistent intervals. Each historian advances our knowledge of a particular subject. Someday, others follow and, building on that body of work, further the research and provide new insights and understanding. For those of us working in this arena of cultural property, we will always owe a debt of gratitude to Lynn Nicholas for her extraordinary achievement in researching and writing “The Rape of Europa."

President John F. Kennedy once said, “A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces, but the men it honors, the men it remembers.” We as a nation have done a very poor job honoring the accomplishments of the Monuments Men and women, and even worse when it comes to preserving and utilizing their rich legacy In these last few years our country has paid a horrible price. The wisdom of the ages tells us that those who ignore history are destined to relive it. Events in Iraq in April 2003 made sad proof of this timeless truth. How different it might have been!

Within weeks of the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, key American museum personnel, scholars, and other respected officials in the cultural world set in motion actions that within less than two years resulted in the creation of the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas, known as the “Roberts Commission”. Under their aegis a section was created known as the Monuments, Fine Art, and Archives, or MFAA. These “Monuments Men”, initially a part of the Civil Affairs Division, were later attached directly to the various individual Allied Armies in the field of battle.

This small group of museum directors, curators, art historians and educators volunteered for service to protect cultural monuments and works of art, and assist with temporary repairs when possible. With no more than a dozen or so men working in Italy, and another dozen in France by D-Day plus 30, their task was seemingly impossible. Hitchhiking was a common mode of transport as they had almost no vehicles. The resources available to them to do their job were pitiful. So much of what they accomplished occurred as a result of personal initiative and ingenuity.

As the war progressed and the full scope of Hitler and the Nazi’s greatest theft in history became known, the Monuments Men’s attention shifted to locating and rescuing tens of thousands of the most treasured works of art including paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Leonardo da Vinci, and sculpture by Donatello and Michelangelo to name but a few. In the closing months of the war these Monuments Men, by that time numbering no more than 50 or so American and British officers and soldiers, located in more than 1500 hiding places—salt and copper mines, castles, and other structures above and below ground—paintings, sculpture, church bells, Torah scrolls and other religious artifacts, stained glass, the great libraries of Europe, the entire contents of the Reichsbank including gold worth in today’s dollars about $5 billion, and even the trolley cars from the city of Amsterdam. It was the greatest treasure hunt in history, a hunt that continues to this day.

At war’s end, when most of the western Allied Forces were being demobilized and sent home, the Monuments Men’s work had just begun.Collecting Points were created almost overnight to house the hundreds of thousands of cultural items and art treasures being located and removed from repositories throughout Germany and northern Austria. The Monuments Men needed everything: research assistants, photographers, typists, packers and shippers to name just a few of their personnel needs. Within a few months their ranks rose to a total number of about 350 or so men and women from 13 nations of which about 70 percent were American. Restitutions began almost immediately. Paintings and sculpture belonging to the great museums of Florence made a triumphant entry into Piazza Signoria in July 1945. In northern Europe, returns initially focused on the iconic works of art stolen from the key Allied countries. The great Ghent Alterpiece was first, followed by the Bruges Madonna and then token restitutions of select paintings to France and the Netherlands. The restitutions that followed took years and in fact, occupied a few of the Monuments Men and women until 1951 when the final Collecting Point was closed. By that time, more than 5 million cultural items had been returned to the countries from which they had been stolen.

The actions of the Monuments Men were without precedent. It was the first time an army attempted to fight a war while mitigating damage to cultural treasures.Historic orders were issued on numerous occasions by the Supreme Allied Commander, General Eisenhower, stating that “We are bound to respect those monuments so far as war allows.” At the end of the war, the policy of the Western Allied nations was clearly announced to the world: to the victors do NOT belong the spoils of war. That which was stolen was ordered returned.

More orders were issued:General Bradley stated, “we are a conquering army, but we are not a pillaging army”. The statements of these leaders during World War II stand in stark contrast to comments we heard from the Secretary of Defense in the aftermath of the looting of the National Museum of Iraq:“Freedom’s untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things…stuff happens.”

And lest you think all the attention of the Monuments Men was focused on Europe, consider that Monuments officer Langdon Warner, one of the world’s leading authorities on Asian art and a noted archaeologist, pleaded with the War Department to avoid bombing the key Japanese cities of Kyoto and Nara in the closing days of the war. He successfully made the case that destruction of these cultural centers would forever impair Japan from rebuilding. Today, in both cities, there stand shrines built by the citizens of those cities honoring Langdon Warner for his actions.

Several years ago an archeologist was interviewed about how Iraq’s treasures could have been better protected. In response to a suggestion from the reporter that perhaps such noted scholars could assist in the field, the archeologist demurred and said, “it is too dangerous; someone could be killed.” And during the fighting in World War II, two Monuments Men were killed: Major Ronald Balfour, a British officer who in civilian life was a noted Cambridge scholar; and Captain Walter Huchthausen, an accomplished American architect. Dangerous indeed. When asked ‘is art worth a life’, one of our 12 living Monuments Men, Lt. Bernie Taper, had the following to say:

In late 1945, in an act of ambition or ignorance, official word came from the United States ordering the removal from one of the Collecting Points in Germany to the National Gallery in Washington of 202 irreplaceable works of art formerly in the Kaiser-Friedrich Museum in Berlin on the grounds that the Monuments Men were not able to properly and safely protect these works of art. An outcry erupted. Perhaps the most eloquent words ever written on the subject of art looting and restitution were penned by a group of Monuments officers who then took the unprecedented step of signing this document under threat of court-martial and subsequently submitting it to their superior officer.

“no historical grievance will rankle so long, or be the cause of so much justified bitterness, as the removal, for any reason, of a part of the heritage of any nation, even if that heritage may be interpreted as a prize of war. And though this removal may be done with every intention of altruism, we are none the less convinced that it is our duty, individually and collectively, to protest against it, and that though our obligations are to the nation to which we owe allegiance, there are yet further obligations to common justice, decency and the establishment of the power of right, not of expediency or might, among civilized nations.”

Monuments Officer Captain Edith Standen would later write, “it is not enough to be virtuous, we must also appear so.” In time, all 202 works of art were returned to Germany.

I could extol the virtues of these brave men and women endlessly, and I fully intend to do so. Every time we walk into a museum, a church or library in Western Europe, we enjoy a timeless part of who we are as a civilization because of the sacrifices they made 63 years ago. They wrote the book on the protection of cultural property during armed conflict. They placed their lives and their careers at risk to stand on the principle that the cultural treasures of others should be protected and returned. They left us a legacy so replete with life affirming examples there can only be one action required of us: to find the courage to act.

(From left to right: Bill Keller, Catherine Roach, and me)

Last Thursday I spoke at Yale University as part of a wonderful presentation to about 400 people held in the Robert L. McNeil Jr., Lecture Hall at the Yale University Art Gallery.  I spoke, along with key Monuments Man’s son Bill Keller and Catherine Roach who is completing her doctoral thesis on Deane Keller and his papers.  Afterward we attended a wonderful dinner held in our honor by Jock Reynolds, Director of the Yale University Art Gallery, and his magnificent team. 

This speaking engagement was all part of the Andrew Ritchie lecture series, named after Monuments Man Andrew Ritchie, a former director of the Yale Art Gallery from 1957 to 1971.  Ritchie can be seen in the photo below.  He was just one of 11 Monuments Man who served at Yale, a remarkable percentage of the Monuments Man in the field at the time. 

The names of the others and their association follows:

Ellis Waterhouse — Yale Center for British Arts Director — 1970 - 1973
S. Lane Faison — Yale University Assistant Professor — 1932 - 1936
Frederick Hartt — Yale University
Harald Ingholdt — Yale University Faculty — 1942 - ?
Deane Keller — Yale University Professor, Portrait Artist — 1930 - 1970
John Marshall Phillips — Yale University Professor — 1932-1953; Yale University Art Gallery Director 1927 - 1947
Gisela Richter — Yale University — 1938
Charles Sawyer — Yale University Director of Division of Arts — 1947 - 1956
Theodore Sizer — Yale University Professor — 1931-1947; Yale University Art Gallery Director — 1927 - 1947
Lamont Moore — Yale University Art Gallery Director, Assistant Director — 1948 - 1957
Andrew Ritchie — Yale University Art Gallery Director 1957 - 1971

Speaking engagements such as this are so heartening to me as I always have a chance to honor these heroes, oftentimes among their own constituents and even some of their relatives as happened last night.  It never ceases to amaze me how many people, especially in the world of art, do NOT know about these Monuments Men much less the extent of their service during WWll.

To listen to Bill Keller so respectfully and insightfully discuss his father’s experience was a highlight for me. I met many new people who expressed a desire to help our efforts, and had a chance to see one of the great museums in the world at Yale. Of course, the generosity of Paul Mellon, the enormous benefactor to not only Yale but the arts worldwide, are everywhere. Without men such as this, and certainly his father, Andrew Mellon, whose fortune and influence resulted in the creation of our nation’s National Gallery, our world would be a much less beautiful and meaningful place.

Thanks to all at Yale who made our visit such a great experience.

It’s been a busy few weeks…what’s new!!!

Much of the last few weeks were spent preparing to host Dr. Bruce Cole, Chairman of the National Endowment of the Humanities, and his team, for their visit to Dallas to announce a new educational initiative called "Picturing America".  We were honored to be able to work with the NEH in bringing this great program to Dallas, the first city in the nation to receive it. 

The formal announcement occurred on Wednesday at a ceremony that took place at the Nasher Museum, an appropriate site given its founder’s love of art and education.  Ray Nasher was a wonderful man and friend: he would have been so pleased to have known about this innovative use of art to help educate kids throughout our country.

Mayor Tom Leppert introduced our special guests which included Dr. Michael Hinojosa, Superintendent of Schools, Dallas Independent School District; Daniel Schneider, Acting Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and Loriene Roy, President of the American Library Association.  I was so delighted to have been asked to serve as the Master of Ceremony for the event, one that was very well attended by a cross section of educators, museum experts, and other people of good will. 

That evening I hosted a dinner for about 24 people including the NEH team and friends of the arts in Dallas.  Many old friendships were rekindled. It is always a joy for me to bring such caring and committed people together for an event of lasting importance.

Picturing America will be, in my view, Dr. Bruce Cole’s lasting legacy as Chairman of the NEH.  It has the power to teach kids of all backgrounds and expose them to iconic images of great American art and culture many might never see. It is an especially effective teaching tool for first generation Americans.  And it is free!!! Another example of Dr. Cole and his team delivering value and substance to the American people.  His leadership of the NEH, now approaching almost seven years, is a testament to excellence and stewardship.  All citizens have benefited.

It has been an honor to be a small part of what I know is going to be a tremendous success of the Picturing America initiative.

Emanuel Leutze (American: 1816 - 1868), Washington Crossing the Delaware, 1851. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of John Stewart Kennedy, 1897 (97.34). Photograph © 1992 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The National Endowment for the Humanities
Cordially Invites You to Join

The Honorable Bruce Cole
Chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities

Robert M. Edsel
President, Monuments Men Foundation

Loriene Roy
President, American Library Association

Daniel Schneider
Acting Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
and

at
Nasher Sculpture Center
for an event focused on

Picturing America provides an innovative way for citizens of all
ages to explore the history and character of America
through some of our nation’s greatest works of art.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at 1:30 pm
In Nasher Hall ◦ 2001 Flora Street, Dallas, TX 75201 ◦ Reception to follow.

The National Endowment for the Humanities wishes to thank the following:

Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Smith

National Trust for the Humanities