Modern Art and German Reconstruction: American Curatorial Interventions in Postwar Berlin

This article offers an analysis of two little-known 1951 exhibitions that marked a new era for American cultural diplomacy with postwar Germany. Contemporary Berlin Artists was circulated across the United States, while Amerikanische Malerei: Werden und Gegenwart (‘American Painting in the Making and Now’) introduced contemporary American art to Berliners. Both exhibitions were organized by the American Federation of Arts (AFA) in collaboration with the United States High Commissioner for Germany. The article examines how the AFA employed contemporary art in its exhibitions to advance American cultural and diplomatic goals for West Germany.