Delano Magazine – When you walk into the Luxembourg residence of US ambassador Robert Mandell, you are immediately greeted by a Wolf Kahn canvas depicting a country pond in brilliant greens worthy of Chagall. As you pass into the greeting room, you experience the work of Hans Hofmann, Robert Motherwell, Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella, and others. These art works have been supplied by a US State Department initiative called “Art in Embassies”.

The programme curates exhibitions for embassy residences worldwide. Each ambassador is given the opportunity to select the pieces of contemporary American art that will hang in his or her residence. For Mandell, that privilege allowed him to advance a great passion in his life–using art to connect with others and to bring people together. There is another stunning Wolf Kahn at the top of the staircase–a huge oil canvas depicting a treeline in hues of fuchsia and rose. “Wolf Kahn is a friend of mine and has been a role model for me,” says Mandell. “The colours he uses are phenomenal. I’ve gone into the woods with him and we’ve painted together. It’s the coolest thing. It’s like playing basketball with Michael Jordan.”

The previous is an excerpt from an article in Delano Magazine by Tonya Stoneman. Click here for full article