Patrons and Propaganda

By

Michelangelo had the Medicis; Jackson Pollock had the CIA.

It’s true—in order to ensure the US kept up with the Soviet Union culturally and artistically, the CIA funded abstract expressionist art, unbeknownst even to the artists themselves.

Read more about Truman, McCarthy, and secret art money at the Independent.

Lauren O'Neal is an MFA student at San Francisco State University. Her writing has appeared in publications like Slate, The New Inquiry, and The Hairpin. You can follow her on Twitter at @laureneoneal. More from this author →