Cold War modernists : art, literature, and American cultural diplomacy, 1946-1959

337 Pages·2015·2.219 MB·English

by  Barnhisel, Greg

COLD WAR MODERNISTS
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COLD WAR MODERNISTS

GREG BARNHISEL
COLD WAR
MODERNISTS
Art, Literature, and
American Cultural Diplomacy
Columbia University Press / New York
Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
Copyright © 2015 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Chapter 3 appeared in an earlier form in Book History 13 (2010).
A shorter version of Chapter 4 appeared in ELH 81, no. 1 (2014).
Chapter 5 appeared in a very preliminary incarnation in Modernism/Modernity 14, no. 4
(2007). © Johns Hopkins University Press.
Published and unpublished material by James Laughlin, copyright © 2005, 2014 by the
New Directions Ownership Trust. Used by permission of New Directions.
Unpublished material from Stephen Spender used by kind permission of the Estate of
Stephen Spender.
Unpublished material from Irving Kristol used by kind permission of Gertrude
Himmelfarb Kristol.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Barnhisel, Greg, 1969–
Cold War modernists : art, literature, and American cultural diplomacy / Greg Barnhisel.
pages cm.
Summary: “An examination of the legacy of modernism as a cultural movement and propa-
ganda tool during the Cold War and the 1950s in America” —Provided by publisher.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-231-16230-2 (cloth : acid-free paper) — ISBN 978-0-231-53862-6 (ebook)
1. United States—Cultural policy. 2. United States—Intellectual life—20th century.
3. Modernism (Aesthetics)—Political aspects—United States—History—20th century.
4. Propaganda—United States—History—20th century. 5. Cold War—Political
aspects—United States. 6. Art—Political aspects—United States—History—20th
century 7. Politics and literature—United States—History—20th century. 8. United
States—Politics and government—1945–1953 9. United States—Politics and govern-
ment—1945–1953 9. United States—Politics and government—1953–1961. I. Title.
E169.12.B2947 2015
973.91—dc23 2014017122

Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper.
This book is printed on paper with recycled content.
Printed in the United States of America
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
cover design: Lisa Force
References to Internet Web sites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither
the author nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs that may have
expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
CONTENTS
Abbreviations and Note on Unpublished Sources vii
Acknowledgments xi
INTRODUCTION
1
1. FREEDOM, INDIVIDUALISM, MODERNISM
25
2. “ADVANCING AMERICAN ART”: MODERNIST
PAINTING AND PUBLIC–PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
55
3. COLD WARRIORS OF THE BOOK:
AMERICAN BOOK PROGRAMS IN THE 1950S
93
4. ENCOUNTER MAGAZINE AND THE TWILIGHT
OF MODERNISM
136
CONTENTS
5. PERSPECTIVES USA AND THE ECONOMICS OF
COLD WAR MODERNISM
179
6. AMERICAN MODERNISM IN AMERICAN
BROADCASTING: THE VOICE OF
(MIDDLEBROW) AMERICA
217
CONCLUSION
249
Notes 259
Index 305
vi
ABBREVIATIONS AND NOTE
ON UNPUBLISHED SOURCES
ABBREVIATIONS IN TEXT
AAPL American Artists Professional League
ABPC American Book Publishers Council
ACCF American Committee for Cultural Freedom
AFA American Federation of Arts
ALA American Library Association
CIA US Central Intelligence Agency
CPI Committee on Public Information
CCF Congress for Cultural Freedom
HICOG Office of the High Commissioner for Occupied Germany
ICS Information Center Service
IMG Informational Media Guaranty
IRD UK Information Research Department
IIA International Information Administration
MoMA Museum of Modern Art
NSC US National Security Council
OCB Operations Coordinating Board
OFF Office of Facts and Figures
OIAA Office of Inter-American Affairs
ABBREVIATIONS
OPC Office of Policy Coordination
OWI Office of War Information
PSB Psychological Strategy Board
RFE Radio Free Europe
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific, and
Cultural Organization
USIA United States Information Agency
USIS United States Information Service
VOA Voice of America
VOKS All-Union Society for Cultural Relations with
Foreign Nations
UNPUBLISHED SOURCES AND
THEIR ABBREVIATIONS
Unpublished source material comes from the following archives, libraries, and
collections, and the following abbreviations, in addition to the abbreviations
given in the text, appear in the endnotes:
AAA Archives of American Art, Smithsonian
Institution,Washington, DC
ALA American Library Association Archives, University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library
BU Encounter Magazine Collection, Howard Gotlieb Archival
Research Center, Boston University
COL USIA Broadcast Center Munich Records, Bakhmeteff
Archive, Columbia University, New York
DDEL Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library, Abilene, KS
FFA Ford Foundation Archives, Rockefeller Archive Center,
Sleepy Hollow, NY
HRC Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, University of
Texas at Austin
HSTL Harry S. Truman Presidential Library, Independence, MO
viii
ABBREVIATIONS
HVD Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
IACF International Association for Cultural Freedom Papers,
Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago
Library, Chicago
IPI Intercultural Publications Manuscripts, Lilly Library,
Indiana University at Bloomington
LOC Microform Reading Room, Library of Congress,
Washington, DC
NANY National Archives at New York
NARA National Archives and Records Administration, Archives II,
College Park, MD
PUL Princeton University Libraries, Princeton, NJ
RG Record Group (used with National Archives records)
RU Record Unit (used with Smithsonian records)
SIA Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, DC
TAM American Committee for Cultural Freedom Papers,
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives,
New York University, New York
UARK US Department of State Bureau of Educational and
Cultural Affairs Historical Collection, Special Collections
Library, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
YALE Manuscripts and Archives, Sterling Memorial Library,
Yale University, New Haven, CT
ix