American National Exhibition

The American National Exhibition was held in Sokol'niki Park, Moscow in the summer of 1959.

The exhibit was sponsored by the American government, and it followed a similar Soviet Exhibit in New York City earlier that year. It featured many displays of the latest "home appliances, fashions, television and hi-fi sets, a model house priced to sell [to] an 'average' family, farm equipment, 1959 automobiles, boats, sporting equipment and a children’s playground, this exhibit was intended to narrow the gap between the Americans and the Soviets and improve the political relations between them. However, the "exhibition was also a tool of cultural diplomacy against the Soviet Communist Regime" as the American politicians wanted to demonstrate the advantages of capitalism to the Soviets. This is evident in Vice President Richard Nixon’s speech on the opening night of the Exhibition on July 24, 1959 as he congratulated USSR’s Premier Nikita Khrushchev and the Soviets on their advances in astronomy and rocket science, but quickly returned to focus on the United States' strong points, especially the concept of freedom.

The various displays of the exhibit were all successful in promoting the American way of life as superior to the Communist regime and lifestyle. For instance, the model of the modern kitchen was a great attraction for most visitors and even sparked the infamous "Kitchen Debate."

A multi-screen film was presented, "Glimpses of the USA" by Charles and Ray Eames.

Controversy ensued within the U.S. State Department concerning certain American artists whose works were to be displayed in the Exhibit. Considering the fact that some of the artists had been linked to communist activities, "a few right-wing publicists and legislators claimed that communist sympathizers were undermining the reputation of the United States." After an investigation of each of these painters and sculptors, Francis Walter, Chairman of the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), revealed that thirty-four of the sixty-seven featured artists had been involved in some Communist organization. The Committee was prepared to remove these works from the Exhibit altogether, yet President Dwight Eisenhower intervened and allowed for them to be displayed as were originally planned. In order to appease the conservatives, he also decided to add several paintings, which dated back to the eighteenth century, to Moscow.

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