Understood chiefly as the stark backdrop for neorealist cinema or a glamorous playground for the international jet set, postwar Rome tends to be sidelined in artistic narratives of this period, despite the energetic activity of international artists pursuing cutting-edge practice in diverse media – painting and sculpture as well as cinema, experimental music, conceptual art, and literature. A principal site of international exchange was the Rome-New York Art Foundation, which between 1957 and 1961 hosted nine exhibitions that not only played a decisive role in the diffusion of American art in Europe, but also catalyzed an international, universalizing spirit in contemporary art largely eclipsed by the triumph of American Pop Art at the Venice Biennale in 1964. This is the first of two research seminars in which international scholars will consider various aspects of artistic production, exhibition and exchange in Rome during this vibrant period.

Participants in the first session include: Emily Braun, Elisabetta Cristallini, Michele Dantini, Barbrara Drudi, Susan Fisher, Elisa Francesconi, Alicia Imperiale, Katie Johnson, Talia Kwartler, Marco Rinaldi, Patrizia Rosazza Ferraris, Robert Slifkin, and Rosemary Stewart. Papers will be given in English and in Italian.

The research seminar is organized by the American Academy in Rome and the Terra Foundation for American Art.