White House Easter Egg by Gerald King
 


Gerald King working on 2006 White House Easter Egg for the District of Columbia
 

State Easter Eggs Exhibit

        The 2006 White House State Easter Eggs Collection continues a tradition that began in 1994 where a
        decorated chicken egg is sent by each state and the District of Columbia to the White House for display.
        The collection, coordinated by the American Egg Board, is comprised of original miniature works of art
        created through the use of paint, carvings, decorative additions and other art media.

        The display can be seen at the White House Visitor Center from Friday, April 7 to Sunday, April 30, 2006
        from 7:30 am to 4 p.m. The Visitor Center is located at 1450 Pennsylvania Avenue South, NW. For more
        information, please call 202-208-1631. Photographed by National Park Service

After receiving an invitation from a member of the American Egg Board to design and paint an egg for the 2006 White House Easter Egg Exhibition, I pondered the problem and almost refused. I had never painted anything of this nature and considered it primarily a craft. However, the prospect of doing a painting on such an unusual support or surface was a challenge I could not resist.

The assignment was to design an egg to represent the District of Columbia. As an image maker who favors realism over abstract symbolism, I began by considering three things--the past, the present, and the future. The past and present could be referenced by a depiction of the newly opened WW-II memorial on the Mall. The future would be expressed by shades of the primary colors of red, blue and yellow--bright, pure, and indivisible.

             
    FRONT                      BACK                        BACK RIGHT             FRONT RIGHT

     
BACK RIGHT                   ARTIST

The reward for painting my White House Easter Egg was to meet the first lady. I was honored. I now had a piece of art in the permanent collection of the White House.

 

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