Public duties, private interests: Mexican art at New York's Museum of Modern Art, 1929--1954

MoMA is one of the world's most influential institutions in terms of establishing a canon for modern art. While canons ostensibly connote impartiality, the history of Mexican art at MoMA raises critical questions. Why did MoMA's promotion of Mexican artists vary so dramatically from 1929 to 1954? What forces were in play?;I document how MoMA interpreted and evaluated Mexican art during this period, and situate esthetic issues relative to the diverse political and economic pressures brought to bear on MoMA policy. Of special interest are the conceptions of public duty that motivated trustees and staff, and the private interests to which these duties were often related—especially those of the Rockefeller family. My research draws on publications, reports, correspondence and registration records from MoMA, the Rockefeller Archive Center, Archives of American Art, and the Hoover Institution.;While MoMA committed significant funding to the goal of educating the U.S. and, ultimately, the global public about modern art, the museum also made use of critical discourse for broader purposes. Generally the goal was to promote international understanding and to strengthen U.S.-Mexican or U.S.-Latin American relations. A less publicized aspect of this mission was the promotion of democracy and capitalism and the thwarting of communism in the name of peace and economic progress. Internationalist perspectives coincided with U.S. nationalist and expansionist thinking. The underlying aim in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s was to attain or maintain the position of the U.S. as global cultural leader—cultural status to match the nation's preeminence in political, financial and military affairs. What was perceived to be in the public interest often was beneficial for the Rockefeller family, including their investments in Latin America.;The museum was adept at manipulating highly varied art styles and trends for ideological purposes. MoMA deployed works by communist artists to promote democratic ideals and the ostensibly free exchange of culture under capitalism. At the same time the museum practiced repressive measures, especially when trustees believed such measures were necessary to safeguard the financial assistance and good will of the institution's supporters.