The Nelson Rockefeller donation of 1946 at the Museum of Contemporary Art of the University of Sao Paulo

Abstract

The paper investigates the backstage donation of 14 works of art, held by American tycoon Nelson Rockefeller to the former Museum of Modern Art of São
Paulo in November 1946. This collection, now belongs to the Museum of Contemporary Art, University of São Paulo, is of importance History, as it represents embryonic collection of first museum of modern art in Brazil. Documents rescued from the archives of MoMA and the Rockefeller Archive Center indicate that the trustees were responsible for selecting Alfred Barr and Dorothy Miller, and his choices directly reflect the artistic scene Postwar, resulting in the insertion of two distinct artistic poles: “the new American” and “Europeans in exile”.