Synopses & Reviews
During the Cold War, culture became another weapon in America's battle against communism. Part of that effort in cultural diplomacy included a program to arrange the exhibition of hundreds of American paintings overseas. Michael L. Krenn studies the successes, failures, contradictions, and controversies that arose when the U.S. government and the American art world sought to work together to make an international art program a reality between the 1940s and the 1970s.
The Department of State, then the United States Information Agency, and eventually the Smithsonian Institution directed this effort, relying heavily on the assistance of major American art organizations, museums, curators, and artists. What the government hoped to accomplish and what the art community had I mind, however, were often at odds. Intense domestic controversies resulted, particularly surrounding the promotion of modern or abstract expressionist art. Ultimately, the exhibition of American art overseas was one of the most controversial Cold War initiatives undertaken by the United States. Krenn's investigation deepens our understanding of the cultural dimensions of America's postwar diplomacy and explores how unexpected elements of the Cold War led to a redefinition of what is, and is not, "American."
Review
"A major contribution to the growing literature on the cultural dimensions of the Cold War."
American Historical Review
Review
"Interrogates the relationship between the state and the art world. . . . A well-researched, well-written and insightful examination which throws light on a particular aspect of governmental approaches to cultural diplomacy."
History
Review
"An illuminating and detailed treatment of some key episodes of the U.S. international art programs saga between 1945 and 1970."
-- Foreign Service Journal
Synopsis
Krenn examines the international exhibitions of American art as part of the State Department's Cold War efforts to win the hearts and minds of people around the world and help defeat communism.
Synopsis
"An illuminating and detailed treatment of some key episodes of the U.S. international art programs saga between 1945 and 1970."
-- Foreign Service Journal "Interrogates the relationship between the state and the art world. . . . A well-researched, well-written and insightful examination which throws light on a particular aspect of governmental approaches to cultural diplomacy."
History "A major contribution to the growing literature on the cultural dimensions of the Cold War."
American Historical Review