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The Organisation and Reception of Eastern Bloc Exhibitions on the British Cold War 'Home Front' C.1956-1979

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The Organisation and Reception of Eastern Bloc Exhibitions on the British Cold War 'Home Front' C.1956-1979 The Organisation and Reception of Eastern Bloc Exhibitions on the British Cold War 'Home Front' c.1956-1979 VERITY CLARKSON' A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Brighton for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2010 The University of Brighton in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum ABSTRACT This thesis investigates government-sponsored exhibitions originating in the USSR and Eastern Europe held in Britain between 1956-1979. These incoming manifestations of cultural diplomacy were a locus for cultural exchange during the ideological conflict of the Cold War, providing temporary public spaces in which cultural artefacts from the eastern bloc - perceived as an unfamiliar, isolated and rival territory - were displayed and responded to. This research scrutinises the organisation and reception of these usually reCiprocal displays of art, historical artefacts, and commercial goods on the British Cold War 'home front' ~ Taking a British perspective on these exhibitions, this thesis investigates three main research areas. Firstly, organisation: it asks how and why these exhibitions took place and analyses the roles and aims of various British agencies, galleries and museums in facilitating these displays. Secondly, it investigates their cultural diplomatic messages and how they were conveyed through visual and material cultures. Thirdly, it investigates British the responses of British critics and organisational agencies, analysing what these disclose about British attitudes to the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and the Cold War. Drawing on a range of predominantly archival sources e.g. the Arts Council Archive, the Victoria and Albert Museum Archive, the British Council Archive, the Royal Academy Archive, Foreign Office records, and the Earls Court Archive, in addition to contemporary press, this thesis asks the overriding research question: what do these exhibitions tell us about Britain's position in and attitudes to the cultural Cold War? Following a contextual chapter on the development and practicalities of British-Soviet and British-Eastern European cultural diplomacy after 1956, three chapters focus on different groups of exhibitions. Firstly, art historical exhibitions in which the Soviet and British authorities collaborated in and contested ownership of the artistic history and culture of the USSR; secondly, reciprocal eastern European 'embassy exhibitions' which used displays of predominantly historical 'treasures' from Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Romania to assert distinctive national identities; and finally, a series of three Soviet industrial exhibitions in London which presented a mythic 'dreamworld' of the Soviet 'way of life'. The thesis suggests that these exhibitions reveal a nuanced and subtle picture of British attitudes towards the Eastern Bloc where the Cold War could be only one part of a broader picture of mixed political, cultural and commercial considerations. 2 CONTENTS 4 List of Illustrations 10 Acknowledgements 11 Declaration 12 List of Abbreviations 13 CHAPTER 1: Introduction 18 Research questions 19 Methodology, sources, limitations 23 Key themes and scholarly context 44 Chapter outline 48 CHAPTER 2: The exhibition as Cold War cultural diplomacy in Britain 56 The origins of Cold War cultural diplomacy in Britain 70 Cultural Agreements in practice 91 Cultural Diplomacy and Curatorial Choices 115 Conclusion 118 CHAPTER 3: Contested visions of Soviet Art in Britain in 1959 and 1971 122 The exhibitions 132 Soviet art and the Cold War 143 Curatorial power and Soviet art history 165 Critical reactions to Soviet art in Cold War Britain 195 Conclusion 196 CHAPTER 4: Priceless autobiographies of Eastern Europe 201 A 'pervasive smell' of cultural exchange? 233 Beautiful, surprising and funny': Bohemian Glass 260 A 'many-coloured prism': the 'uncommon way' of the Polish artist 290 Conclusion 291 CHAPTER 5: The Soviet 'Way of Life' in Cold War Britain 1961-1979 295 A Soviet 'dreamworld' 300 Western 'dreams' of Soviet life 306 Cold War commerce 317 The Soviet 'way of life' and its reception in Britain 354 'Dreamworld' meets reality 361 Conclusion 366 CHAPTER 6: Conclusion 377 Bibliography 391 Appendix: list of exhibitions 3 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS CHAPTER 1 Fig. 1.1 Khrushchev and Bulganin as Holbein's The Ambassadors. [Leslie Illingworth, Punch 18 April 1956] CHAPTER 2 Fig. 2.1 Kosygin and Harold Wilson at the opening of Great Britain: USSR. [Press photo V&A Archive VX.1967.001] Fig 2.2 Kosygin being shown the Stalingrad Sword, symbol of British­ Soviet friendship at Great Britain: USSR. [Press photo V&A Archive VX.1967.001] Fig. 2.3 Tudor and Stuart silverware from the Soviet Union at Great Britain: USSR. [Press photo V&A Archive VX.1967.001] Fig. 2.4 Bede's Ecclesiastical History on show: an ancient manuscript used in Cold War cultural diplomacy. [Press photo V&A Archive VX.1967.001] Fig. 2.5 Hussars Uniform worn by the Duke of Wellington, illustrating Anglo-Russian connections. [Press photo V&A Archive VX.1967.001] Fig. 2.6 Pope Hennessy, Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum (left) and Mr Zemskov unpack the iconic Volgograd (Stalingrad) Sword for Great Britain: USSR (1967). ['Stalingrad Sword Comes Home' The Times 2 February 1967] Fig. 2.7 The Wartime A"iance as the epitome of Anglo-Soviet friendship: 'Congratulations from One Who Knows', Low. [Press photo V&A Archive VX.1967.001] Fig. 2.8 Silver Leopard flagon from the Kremlin collection dated 1600-1. [Press photo V&A Archive VX.1967.001] Fig. 2.9 Swan dress designed in 1905 by Leon Bakst for Pavlova in Le Cygne and worn by her in London. [Press photo V&A Archive VX.1967 .001] CHAPTER 3 Fig. 3.1 'It's been withdrawn - Pasternak must have praised it.' Detail from 'Overheard at an Exhibition' Bernard Ho"owood [Punch 14 January 1959] Fig. 3.2 'Psst Want to Buy a Banned Exhibit?' Marc [The Times, 4 March 1971] 4 Fig. 3.3 The private view for Russian Painting. ['The town turns out for Russia's paintings' Tatter 14 Jan 1959] Fig. 3.4 Michael Brawne's installation for Art in Revolution (1971) [Press photo; collection of Edward Braun] Fig. 3.5 Melnikov's Soviet Pavilion for the 1925 Paris Exhibition of Decorative Art, inspiration for Brawne's installation. [Camilla Gray, The Great Experiment 269 - image 213] Fig. 3.6 Model of Popova's set for Meyerhold's The Magnanimous Cuckold. [Press photo; collection of Edward Braun] Fig. 3.7 Plastov's Collective Farm Threshing being hung at the Royal Academy. [,Russian Paintings at the Royal Academy' Glasgow Herald, 24 December 1959] Fig. 3.8 Fly, Swallows by Mikenas Yozas (1964) [Vladimir Kemenov, The USSR Academy of Arts, Aurora, Leningrad 1982,47] Fig. 3.9 The Proun Room constructed for Art in Revolution, prior to being boarded up at Soviet insistence. [Press photo; collection of Edward Braun] Fig. 3.10 The visitors' book at Russian Painting proved worthy of press attention. ['The town turns out for Russia's paintings' Tat/er 14 Jan 1959] Fig. 3.11 'Overheard at an Exhibition' Bernard Hollowood [Punch 14 January 1959] Fig. 3.12 Alexander Deineka The Defence of Petrograd (1928) [Vladimir Sysoyev, Alexander Deineka, Aurora Leningrad, 1982] Fig. 3.13 Alexander Deineka Relay Race (1947) [Vladimir Sysoyev, Alexander Deineka, Aurora Leningrad, 1982] Fig. 3.14 The Kukriniksy The End (1947-8) [Vladimir Kemenov, The USSR Academy of Arts, Aurora, Leningrad 1982, 126] Fig. 3.15 Brawne's installation for Art in Revolution. [Press photo; collection of Edward Braun] Fig. 3.16 The construction of the model of Tatlin's Monument to the Third International on the roof of the Hayward Gallery. [Andrew Causey, 'Art in the Russian Revolution' Illustrated London News 20 March 1971, 29] Fig. 3.17 The Soviet room at Art in Revolution showing developments in Soviet art from 1930 onwards. [Press photo; collection of Edward Braun] 5 CHAPTER 4 Fig. 4.1 Gold dish depicting the goddess Cybele; part of the late gothic Petrossa Treasures exhibited at the British Museum as part of Treasures from Rumania ['Treasures from Romania' Illustrated London News, 30 January 1971 28] Fig. 4.2 Professor Baleica Maciuca of the University of Bucharest observing a model of the monastery of Cotroceni at the London showing of Rumanian Art Treasures (1966). [The Times 26 January 1966] Fig. 4.3 Dr Ramsey, the Archbishop of Canterbury, attending Rumanian Art Treasures at the Arts Council Gallery, London. [AAD ACGB/121/920 Press photo January 1966] Fig. 4.4 Embroidered tomb cover shown at Rumanian Art Treasures [The Arts Review n.d. c. January 1966] Fig. 4.5 'Strange' objects were displayed: gilt bronze candlestick in the form of a winged monster (1150-1200) shown at Hungarian Art Treasures (1967) [Catalogue: Hungarian Art Treasures no.166] Fig. 4.6 More unfamiliar and fascinating exhibits from the 'East'. Treasures from Rumania, 1971 ['Treasures from Romania' Illustrated London News, 30 January 1971 28] Fig. 4.7 Madonna of Toporc (1420-30) shown at Hungarian Art Treasures. [Catalogue: Hungarian Art Treasures no.66] Fig. 4.8 Historic glassware on display at Bohemian Glass (V&A 1965) ['Exhibition of Bohemian Glass at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London' by J Bribram Czechoslovak Glass Review, NO.7 1965 Vol XX 206-8] Fig. 4.9 Commercial exhibition of Bohemian Glass at Selfridges Department Store, London 1961. [Exhibition of Czechoslovak Glass at Selfridges in London Czechoslovak Glass Review 1961, no.5, vol XVI, 171-2] Fig. 4.10 Members of the British-Czechoslovak Friendship League in traditional costume view modern glass sculptures, including work by Rene Roubicek at Bohemian Glass (V&A 1965). ['Exhibition of Bohemian Glass at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London' by J Bribram Czechoslovak Glass Review, No. 7 1965 Vol XX 206-8] Fig. 4.11 Stanislav Libensky and Jaroslava Brychtova's prize-winning Zoomorphic Stones (1957-8) shown at the Czechoslovak Pavilion, Brussels Expo 1958 [David Crowley and Jane Pavitt (eds) Cold War Modern - Design 1945-1970 V&A London 2008 114] 6 Fig.
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