Description
First edition of Masterpieces of Painting from the National Gallery of Art, inscribed by First Lady Jackie Kennedy to the First Lady of Peru, Clorinda Málaga de Prado.
Large folio, [3]-182pp. Light orange cloth, title stamped in gilt on spine, title and National Gallery of Art logo stamped on front cover. Book measures 12″ x 14″. Complete with 85 full-page color illustrations, all paintings that are held by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Housed in custom black leather clamshell, title on cover over red leather label. In publisher’s scarce dust jacket, price clipped, some residual tape on verso, but an exceptional example, bright illustrations and vibrant colors. Inscribed on the front free endpaper: “For Clorinda de Prado, with all good wishes. Jacqueline Kennedy. September 20, 1961.” A unique historical association copy.
In September 1961, Manuel Prado Ugarteche, the President of Peru and First Lady, Clorinda Málaga de Prado, began their visit to the United States with a State Dinner, hosted by President and Mrs. John F. Kennedy. The strategic relationship was meant to reinforce the democratic alliances with South American countries, a counterbalance to Soviet influences in Cuba. During their visit, the couple visited Washington DC, New York, Miami, Boston, Chicago, and Williamsburg, Virginia. Within a year of the visit, President Prado was arrested, and his government deposed by a military junta. He spent the rest of his life in exile in Paris. Clorinda died in 1993.
