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Visual Culture

Legendary Architect Frank Gehry Honored for Diplomacy through the Arts

Isaac Kaplan
Apr 20, 2016 6:11PM

The above photo was taken at FAPE’s 30th Anniversary dinner on Monday April 18th, hosted by Secretary John Kerry at the State Department’s Diplomatic Reception Rooms. Pictured: FAPE Chairman Jo Carole Lauder, FAPE Board member and Executive Director of the Ellsworth Kelly Foundation Jack Shear, architect Frank Gehry, 2016 Annenberg Award honoree, and Secretary of State John Kerry.

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On Monday, legendary architect Frank Gehry received the 2016 Leonore and Walter Annenberg Award for Diplomacy through the Arts at a dinner hosted by Secretary of State John Kerry in Washington, D.C. Presented by the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies (FAPE), which celebrates 30 years of placing works of art in U.S. embassies across the globe this year, the award has previously gone to Yo-Yo Ma and Alice Walton. The award recognizes individuals who bring global audiences together through their contributions to the arts. In a statement, Gehry said that receiving the award is “a great honor,” and its mission “is central to [his] work.” Gehry, along with Wayne Thiebaud, Ellen Phelan, and Diana Walker, will be donating works to FAPE’s Collection.

From the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao to the Dancing House in Prague to 8 Spruce Street in New York, Gehry’s work is viewed as among the most iconic and innovative in architecture. Gehry was born and raised in Toronto before moving to L.A. in the late 1940s. His buildings—known for swooping and undulating steel forms that have been credited with forging their own architectural language—can be found across three continents and have earned him numerous awards including the prestigious Pritzker Prize.


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Isaac Kaplan