Topic: Arts & Culture

In 1970, Governor Nelson Rockefeller and the Museum of Primitive Art found themselves at the center of a delicate diplomatic negotiation over an allegedly stolen piece of Mayan art.

Nelson Rockefeller’s personal collection of indigenous art – and the museum he founded to share it – would eventually become a vital addition to the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s “encyclopedic” collection.

Asia Society’s first public exhibition in 1960, “Masterpieces of Asian Art in American Collections,” launched decades of exhibitions aimed at bringing Asian arts and cultures to American audiences. Photos show the broad range of diverse media and geographical areas represented in the exhibition.

The Downtown Lower Manhattan Association records include rarely-viewed photographs, drawings, maps, brochures, and other papers that document the design and construction of the World Trade Center in Lower Manhattan, built between 1966 and 1975.

The latest RAC New Research series highlights reports from archival research by stipend recipients, covering diverse subjects from prison plastic surgery policies in the Civil Rights era to Indian art fellowship impacts and the roots of Thai nursing education. It includes discussions on the effects of patronage on video art and Thai-Filipino-American healthcare interactions, revealing the historical role of Rockefeller and Ford Foundations in enabling progressive social and cultural studies.

Supporting American writers and the journals that publish their work.

Encouraging cross-cultural knowledge in an interconnected postwar world by shaping new interdisciplinary programs and retooling traditional academic fields.

The Rockefeller Foundation evolved to bring the arts and humanities together, from classical archaeology to contemporary museums.

Although known for its work in science, medicine, and health, the Rockefeller Foundation supported a surprising number of performing arts activities.

The mid-20th century was an era influenced by mass communications, and a handful of philanthropic programs sought to tap into the possibilities of film and radio.