NBA Star Loans Art Collection to the Decatur House in Washington, D.C.

Benjamin Henry Latrobe may be known as the Father of American Architecture, but you won't find many of his works still in existence. One of Latrobe's three pieces of work still standing is his Decatur House of 1818, a historic site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the heart of Washington, D.C. Designed in a neoclassical style in honor of U.S. naval hero Stephen Decatur, the home sits in Lafayette Square across from the White House as one of the oldest in the nation's capital. And at one point in time, the Decatur House, standing three stories high as the first private residence on the President's Park, served as the unofficial residence for the Secretary of State.

But nowadays, visitors can catch a glimpse of the home's restoration process in progress and learn about nearly 200 years of Washington history - from the elite social events that took place inside the Decatur's front door to his very death, instigated by his infamous duel with Commodore James Barron, and even including Charlotte Dupuy's fight for freedom as an enslaved woman. Better yet, the Decatur House remains as one of the few urban slave quarters still standing in the United States, with physical evidence actually proving that African Americans were once held in bondage near the Executive Mansion.

More recently, though, the home has become a place to display historic art and memorabilia.

At the end of April in fact, the Decatur House opened a special exhibition entitled, The Half Had Not Been Told Me: African Americans on Lafayette Square (1795-1965), in the property's former slave quarters.

Featuring former NBA star Chris Webber's collection of art, the exhibit celebrates the 145th anniversary year of President Abraham Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation and recounts the African-American experience in the nation's capital.

Recalling the memoirs of Frederick Douglass, the exhibit features two items on loan from Webber, including a letter on "United States Marshal's Office" stationary written by Douglass and a photograph of Douglass, circa 1870.

Douglass was particularly fond of the Decatur House, which originally served as Freedmen's Savings & Trust Company headquarters, that after seeing the building, he wrote: "The whole thing was beautiful ... I felt like the Queen of Sheba when she saw the riches of Solomon, that 'the half had not been told me.' "

While Lafayette Square and the Decatur House remain rich in African-American history and culture since Douglass' slave days, neither has earned much public recognition in the past.

Webber, however, could quite possibly help change that previous trend with his own endeavors in the art world.

The former five-time NBA All-Star's collection, in fact, contains particular items that span four different centuries, while his other pieces of artwork relate to African-American icons like Phillis Wheatley, Booker T. Washington, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Marian Anderson.

Webber, who played 15 years in the NBA for five different teams, has said that he will continue to present his collection to African-American communities as a way to give them an opportunity to learn, remember and celebrate their heritage through these items that previously had never been put on display before.

And along with Webber's item on loan, the exhibit has other authentic and historic memorabilia, including Douglass' cane, which has illustrations from his autobiography, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, carved into it.

Meanwhile, inside the Decatur House a quilt made by Elizabeth Keckly, Mary Todd Lincoln's dressmaker and confidante, on loan from the Kent State University Museum, offers its own unique style, having been made out of dress scrapes Keckly collected for Lincoln.

But guests will even be more astonished to see Lois Mailou Jones' 1940 painting of Lillian Evanti, a breathtaking illustration on loan from the National Portrait Gallery that captures one of the first African-American opera stars in U.S. history up close.

Webber's exhibition will remain open until March 1, 2009 with a $5 admission fee and can be seen during the Decatur House's regular viewing hours: Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.

For those interested in learning more about the Decatur House and the museum's special exhibition, customized group tours are available to cater to any particular interests of visitors, and audio tours are also free of charge through Guide by Cell technology, which allows guests to listen along through their cell phones.

Additional time for viewing can also be granted to those interested in viewing the permanent and changing collections in the exhibition gallery or for those who would like more time to browse the Decatur House museum shop's excellent selection of personal and corporate gifts any day of the week. To set up a tour, please contact the Director of Collections and Programs at 202-842-0920, Extension 227.