ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Joan Mondale, who burnished a reputation as “Joan of Art” for her passionate advocacy for the arts while her husband was vice president and a U.S. ambassador, died Monday. She was 83.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Joan Mondale, who burnished a reputation as “Joan of Art” for her passionate advocacy for the arts while her husband was vice president and a U.S. ambassador, died Monday. She was 83.
Walter Mondale, sons Ted and William and other family members were by her side when she died, the family said in a statement released by their church. The family announced Sunday she had gone into hospice care, but declined to discuss her illness.
“Joan was greatly loved by many. We will miss her dearly,” the former vice president said in a written statement.
An arts lover and an avid potter, Joan Mondale was given a grand platform to promote the arts when Walter, then a Democratic senator, was elected Jimmy Carter’s vice president in 1976.
Carter named her honorary chairwoman of the Federal Council on the Arts and Humanities, and in that role she frequently traveled to museums, theaters and artist studios on the administration’s behalf. She lobbied Congress and states to boost public arts programs and funding.
She also showcased the work of prominent artists in the vice presidential residence, including photographer Ansel Adams, sculptor David Smith and painter Georgia O’Keeffe.
Her enthusiasm for the cause earned widespread praise in the arts community, including from Jim Melchert, director of the visual arts program for the National Endowment for the Arts during Carter’s administration.
“Your rare fire has brightened many a day for more people than you may imagine,” Melchert wrote to her after the 1980 Carter-Mondale re-election defeat. “What you’ve done with style and seeming ease will continue illuminating our world for a long time to come.”
Joan Mondale would later take her cultural zeal overseas when her husband was named U.S. ambassador to Japan during President Bill Clinton’s administration.