The Obamas have an eye for art.

The Wall Street Journal reports on the new works of art the Obamas are adding to the White House walls, their political implications, and the potential market effects for the artists they’ve selected (particular the lesser-known ones). From the article:

The Obamas are sending ripples through the art world as they put the call out to museums, galleries and private collectors that they’d like to borrow modern art by African-American, Asian, Hispanic and female artists for the White House. In a sharp departure from the 19th-century still lifes, pastorals and portraits that dominate the White House’s public rooms, they are choosing bold, abstract art works.

The Obamas have great taste, no? A few examples…(the Ruscha is my favorite pick…so great!).

Nicolas de Staël, Nice, 1954

Ed Ruscha

Alma Thomas, Skylight

Edgar Degas, Dancer Putting on her Stocking

Jasper Johns, Numerals, 0-9, lead relief

Richard Diebenkorn Berkeley No. 52, 1955 oil on canvas

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Claudine Isé

Claudine Isé has worked in the field of contemporary art as a writer and curator for the past decade, and currently serves as the Editor of the Art21 Blog. Claudine regularly writes for Artforum.com and Chicago magazine, and has also worked as an art critic for the Los Angeles Times. Before moving to Chicago in 2008, she worked at the Wexner Center in Columbus, OH as associate curator of exhibitions, and at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles as assistant curator of contemporary art, where she curated a number of Hammer Projects. She has Ph.D. in Film, Literature and Culture from the University of Southern California.

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