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In accordance with French legislation, one percent of the Embassy's construction budget was allocated for commissioning three works of art: a tapestry by Manessier, a painting by Olivier Debré and a sculpture by Ipousteguy. Other works displayed at the Embassy are part of the French National Fund for Contemporary Arts. This is a collection of works by French artists purchased by the government and lent to museums and public buildings worldwide.

"The Welcome" (1984) is the large colorful tapestry designed by Alfred Manessier which dominates the entrance hall of Building A (Chancery). Although Manessier first studied architecture and then moved on to painting, since 1948 he has created tapestries and stained glass windows primarily for church; this work has made him a leading figure in contemporary sacred arts.

In the entrance hall of La Maison Française is Olivier Debré's painting "The Long Ocher Flow of the River Loire" (1983), a large scale painting of a delicate, yellow haze. Debré has often been described as an "abstract landscapist." This work, a serene, monochromatic vista broken by violent colors around the edge, was inspired by his native Loire Valley.

Ipousteguy's "A la Lumière de Chacun" ("Dedicated to Everyone's Insight") is a gilded statue set in the center of a fountain in front of La Maison Française (see picture opposite page). The artist chose this location because he wanted the statue to be bathed in sunlight for as much of the day as possible. The work, completed in 1983, is one of three Ipousteguys exhibited in Washington; the other two ("David and Goliath" and "Man Entering Door") are in-stalled in the Hirshorn Sculpture Garden of the Smithsonian Institution.