J Carter Brown

The first U.S.-Soviet art exchange arranged under the Geneva summit cultural pact took shape Friday as three museum directors, a Soviet diplomat and industrialist Armand Hammer outlined plans for a rare show of art from Soviet museums, including a stop in Los Angeles. Elaborating on a project that was first announced Dec. 13, the participants announced at a bicoastal press conference the dates and other details for the U.S.

Remember the evil empire? With the summit and a historic nuclear arms control agreement on the horizon, President Reagan doesn't often call the Soviet Union "the evil empire" anymore. But frantic American officials planning this week's visit of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and his wife, Raisa, may be calling it the impolite empire.

After Nancy Reagan finally took Raisa Gorbachev on their controversy-ridden tour of the White House on Wednesday, the bubbly Soviet First Lady decided it was a nice house to visit, but she wouldn't want to live there. "It's an official house," Mrs. Gorbachev told reporters through an interpreter. "A human being would like to live in a regular house. This is a museum. And Mrs. Reagan is kind enough to tell me about the history and this house."

Charles and Diana, the prince and princess of Wales, arrive in Washington today for a three-day official visit--a prospect that has made the elite of this officially democratic capital suddenly mad about monarchy. Only about 900 Americans have been favored with invitations to social events with the 36-year-old heir to Britain's throne and his dazzling 24-year-old consort, and that's counting a museum benefit reception for 500.

Four major Los Angeles ethnic arts organizations--the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, the California Afro-American Museum, the Craft and Folk Art Museum and the Plaza de la Raza--are ready to launch an Arts Consortium next month. The announcement was made Thursday at a meeting of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

"An American Sampler: Folk Art from the Shelburne Museum" opens Thursday at the County Museum of Art with 120 works that, in their way, help define the nation's history. The collection was initially amassed by Electra Havemeyer Webb, an enormously wealthy New Englander who had a lifelong passion for native handmade objects. Webb founded the Shelburne Museum in Vermont in 1947 to house her renowned collection.

The 1985 Pritzker Architecture Prize has been awarded to Hans Hollein, a relatively obscure Austrian designer known as much for his exhibitions and interiors as his architecture. Carrying with it a tax-free grant of $100,000 and a Henry Moore sculpture, the prize is considered the profession's most prestigious award and certainly its most coveted.

Sitting beside original works by Henry Moore, Auguste Renoir and more, multimillionaire George Ablah discussed the art he's loaning to Century City for an outdoor "sculpture walk." He spoke not from a spacious office suite or mansion anteroom, however, but from the lush interior of his private jet. "My wife Virginia and I are great sponsors of the concept of putting art into public areas where people who wouldn't normally see it, can see it," said the Wichita, Kan., investor and entrepreneur.

Here is a list of guests who attended the Tuesday night state dinner at the White House in honor of the Gorbachevs: HOSTS: President Reagan and Nancy Reagan. GUESTS OF HONOR: Soviet General Secretary Mikhail S. Gorbachev and Raisa Gorbachev. SOVIET GUESTS: Sergei F. Akhromeyev, deputy minister of defense and chief of staff, Soviet armed forces; Georgy A. Arbatov, director, Institute for Study of U.S.A. and Canada; Alexander A. Bessmertnykh, deputy minister for foreign affairs; Valery I.

The controversial plan to build a World War II memorial on the National Mall in Washington took an unexpected turn Monday, as opponents of the project revealed previously unreleased National Park Service studies showing that the proposed site is part of the historic grounds of the Lincoln Memorial. Final design review for the $100-million tribute to veterans of the war is scheduled for Thursday, when the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts will hold a public hearing.