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Reproduced with with permission permission of the of copyright the copyright owner. owner.Further reproductionFurther reproduction prohibited without prohibited permission. without permission. Order Number 1341577 The fusion of art and politics: Events shaping the public-private venture to take American art abroad Hanzal, Carla M., M.A. The American University, 1990 Copyright ©1990 by Hanzal, Carla M. All rights reserved. UMI 300N. ZeebRd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with with permission permission of the of copyright the copyright owner. owner.Further reproductionFurther reproduction prohibited without prohibited permission. without permission. THE FUSION OF ART AND POLITICS: EVENTS SHAPING THE PUBLIC-PRIVATE VENTURE TO TAKE AMERICAN ART ABROAD by Carla M. Hanzal submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of The American University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Arts Management Signatures of Committee: Chair: D§ari of phe'College August 31, 1990 Date 1990 The American University 7/03 Washington, DC 20016 THE AMERICA!! UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 0 COPYRIGHT by CARLA M. HANZAL 1990 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. THE FUSION OF ART AND POLITICS: EVENTS SHAPING THE PUBLIC-PRIVATE VENTURE TO TAKE AMERICAN ART ABROAD BY Carla M. Hanzal ABSTRACT During this century the visual arts in the United States came to be recognized as a medium of influence and as a mode of communication. The fusion of art and politics resulted in a new form of diplomacy. This thesis examines the public and private influences shaping cultural diplo macy. It explores how we as a nation devised a cultural image to be presented abroad and how that image reflected political and ideological trends. Both primary and secondary resources were utilized to follow the mazelike path of government-private sector col laborations to promote the cause of American art. With the formation of the Art in Embassies Program (AIEP) in 1964, the United States government successfully formalized a pro gram of cultural diplomacy. Though modest in scope, the AIEP is one of the most enduring collaborative initiatives to establish an American cultural presence abroad through the visual arts. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my advisor, my committee, and to all those who gave of their time and expertise in helping me with this paper. I would like to give special thanks to Naima Prevots of the Department of Performing Arts, whose enthusiasm and encouragement was constant throughout, and to Gary 0. Larson of the National Endowment for the Arts for his insightful critiques. Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to my family and friends who were there to cheer me on. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................................... iii INTRODUCTION ......................................... 1 Chapter 1. AMERICA— ARTISTIC PROGRESSION AND INTERNATIONALISM ........................... 3 The Ashcan School ............................. 5 The 1913 International Exhibition of Art: The Armory S h o w ......................... 10 Critical Reception and Impact ................ 15 2. CULTURAL RELATIONS AND POWER DIPLOMACY ......... 22 Power Diplomacy........................... 25 Buenos Aires Convention ....................... 27 The Division of Cultural Relations (RC) .... 28 Cultural Relations Conferences .............. 31 Office of the Coordinator of Inter- American A f f a i r s ....................... 36 Art Programs .............................. 38 Postwar Globalization ......................... 49 3. ADVANCING AMERICAN ART: ONE STEP FORWARD, THREE STEPS B A C K ............................... 55 Advancing American Art: A Step Forward .... 62 Three Steps Back— Not American, Not Traditional, Not G o o d .................... 67 Retrenchment ................................. 75 The A t t a c k ................................ 76 Modern Art Controversy in the Postwar Climate . 82 4. A TURNING POINT: THE ERA OF CONFRONTATION .... 85 Chronology— A Turning Point .................. 87 Competitive Coexistence ....................... 94 International Council— Museum of Modern Art . 100 The Woodward Foundation ....................... 112 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 5. ART IN EMBASSIES 118 National Accessions Committee ................ 128 Stephen Munsing— Educating People ............. 139 Jane Thompson................................... 142 Lee Kimche M c G r a t h ............................. 147 C o n c l u s i o n ..................................... 151 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................ 155 V Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INTRODUCTION During this century the visual arts in the United States were recognized by government as a medium of influence and as a mode of communication. The fusion of art and politics resulted in a new form of diplomacy. This thesis will examine how we as a nation arrive at a cultural image to be projected abroad and how this image is related to political and ideological trends. Like many other cultural initiatives by government, the major groundwork for cultural diplomacy was forged through the philanthropic-cultural initiatives of the pri vate sector. Government's first initiative to use the visual arts as a tool of diplomacy arose from Roosevelt's "Good Neighbor" policy of the 1930s. Recognizing that the political, economic, and cultural relations with other nations are inextricably linked together, the Division of Cultural Relations was created in 1938 under the purview of the State Department. According to Assistant Secretary of State William Benton, the program would demonstrate "to all those abroad who thought of the United States as a nation of materialists, that the same country which produces brilliant 1 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. scientists and engineers also produces creative artists."1 Following World War II, the Department of State, as part of a broader program in cultural affairs, began to sponsor exhibitions of American art abroad as a major ploy in the Cold War battle. As a means of cultural diplomacy, these works of art had the potential to communicate in ways that transcended linguistic barriers. That we are a nation with a tradition of diversity; that we allow freedom of expression; and that we are a country with a rich artistic legacy in our own right is conveyed, perhaps most suc cinctly, through the creative endeavors of American artists. It is for symbolic purposes such as these that collections of American art work are displayed in foreign posts. Although international exchange of the visual arts suffered various setbacks during the "Red Scare" of the McCarthy era in the 1940s and 1950s, it was again a national focus during the time of Kennedy's New Frontier administra tion in the 1960s. With the formation of the Art in Embas sies Program in 1964, the U.S. government formalized the government-private sector collaboration to promote the cause of American art abroad. Though modest in scope, the Art in Embassies Program is one of the most enduring formalized efforts to establish a cultural presence abroad

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