Painting and Politics in Postwar France: The Battle for the Ecole de Paris (1944-1964)

This study reconstructs the history of the group of painters known as the Ecole de Paris during the postwar period in France. It shows that the Ecole de Paris dominated the production and reception in modern painting, driven by powerful historical and ideological motivations. Through the analysis of art criticism, painting, and curatorial policy, the study set the artists and paintings of the Ecole de Paris in relations to debates on the validity of foreign contributions to the national tradition, the resurgence of the avant-garde, the interpretation of abstraction, and the impact of Cold War ideology upon art practice.