Jan. 8, 1963 - The “Mona Lisa” was unveiled to official and diplomatic Washington tonight. The painting had been languishing in a guarded vault at the National Gallery of Art since Dec. 19. President Kennedy and André Malraux, French Minister of Cultural Affairs, were the only speakers at the ceremony witnessed by 2,000 persons at the marble-halled National Gallery of Art in Washington. The gilt-framed painting hangs on a temporary wall that is covered with burgundy velvet. All other pictures and statues have been removed from the hall. The painting is covered with shatter-proof glass, just as it is in the Louvre. It will be guarded around the clock during its visit. The “Mona Lisa” will be on view to the public tomorrow at 10 a.m. and will remain on exhibition through Feb. 3. The painting will then be taken to New York for a showing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art before being shipped home to France.
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