The works of art in this room are all prints relating to the 20s and 30s when the Embassy was built and first occupied. The print of Lutyens was made after a painting by Meredith Frampton, one of the most sought-after portraitists of the inter-war years.

The 12 prints by Clare Leighton present a vision of the British countryside from the early 1930s. Each print represents one month and shows a typical task carried out in that month. Made at a time of social and economic change, the prints provide an image of a stable and bountiful countryside. Clare Leighton’s connection with the United States began in the late 1920s when she made her first trip to America; she returned several times in the 1930s and finally settled in Baltimore in 1939.

The silver, cutlery and candelabra were formerly at the British Embassies in Lisbon and The Hague. They were sent to Washington in 1893 when the Legation became an Embassy and Lord Pauncefote was appointed the first British Ambassador to the United States. (He had previously been the Minister in Washington from 1889 and died in office 13 years later).

An amusing diplomatic detail tells of how Pauncefote stole a march on his foreign colleagues. Apparently the papers appointing him British Ambassador were rushed to Washington by fast passenger liner so that Sir Julian, (as he was then) beat the French and German emissaries by a day and became Dean of the Diplomatic Corps.

Although a strong traditionalist, Pauncefote was the first Ambassador to send a typewritten letter to the U.S. State Department. The reply was typewritten too, and the typewriter thereupon became part of official diplomatic office usage in Washington. Much of the silver dates from the early 19th century. Some pieces are by the famous silversmith Paul Storr, others by Robert Hennell, James Collins, John Angel, Edward Barnard and W. Bellchambers. There is a silver and silver gilt punch bowl made by John Bertelot of London in 1752.

There are two principle dinner services; one made by Minton in gold and cream with a wheatear border and the Royal Coat of Arms; the design is called Guyatte. The other commemorates the coronation banquet at Lancaster House in London on 5 June 1953. It is gold and white and was made by Wedgwood. It was designed by Eric Ravilious in the 1930s from a wood-cut for earthenware. The design is known as Golden Persephone and has the Royal Coat of Arms and ER in gilt.

The fireback displays the Royal Coat of Arms.

The leather chairs were originally commissioned for the British Embassy in Rio de Janeiro.

In the corridor between the drawing room and the dining room is a set of six conceptual works, part of a larger series by Emma Kay, called Shakespeare from Memory, in which the artist has rewritten the works of Shakespeare entirely from memory, not always successfully, or accurately.

Move on to the Bedrooms.