From Museum to Marketplace: Displaying the Italian Lifestyle

Scholars acknowledge the traveling exhibition Italy at Work: Her Renaissance in Design Today, held in the US between 1950 and 1953, as a pivotal event in the forging of a new beginning for Italy in the postwar period.1 By invoking the Renaissance—often noted in accounts—the exhibition emphasized the rebirth or resurrection of Italian democracy following the fall of the Fascist dictatorship by utilizing the healing language of a golden age, of which Italy was the embodiment and to which the US also ideally aspired (Belfanti 2015). In fact, the show was presented as a "visual proof of the productive, artistic and spiritual resurgence of Italy" and the tangible seal of the tied partnership between Italy and the United States (see the November 29, 1950, press release in Brooklyn Museum Archives, Records of the Department of Public Information 1947–1952). On one hand, it contributed to the promotion of Italian crafts and design in the United States at a crucial moment during the reconstruction of international political alliances in the postwar era. On the other hand, it met the United States government's objective to underscore its vision of international political might on its own soil and to justify its massive economic efforts overseas by showing Italian advancement in modern crafts fostered by American financial and technical patronage. As such, the exhibition should be regarded within the context of Cold War diplomatic strategies to promote democratic ideals and economic systems.The exhibition was a great success from both commercial and promotional points of view, marketing the Made in Italy brand together with its social, cultural, and aesthetic values. It testified to the emergence of a new and vibrant Italian creative universe entrenched within its tangible cultural heritage and fueled by an interwoven network of artisans, manufacturers, artists, craftspeople, designers, and architects. It provided an exceptional showcase for new Italian crafts and design in a country whose industrial and commercial structures had been undiminished by the war. In so doing, it offered Italian manufacturers the potential for enhanced sales outside their own borders.The association of commercial goals with cultural issues may appear inappropriate when considered from a museological perspective. Indeed, cultural elites were critical of this specific aspect, claiming the exhibition was "too 'commercial' for an art museum" (Schenck 1952). However, as Penny Sparke (1998, 60) first noted, the true aim of Italy at Work was to be "as much a trade show as a cultural event."Drawing on a diverse array of archival sources, this article examines the many circumstances that made the exhibition a success by marketing the Made in Italy brand together with its social, cultural, and aesthetic values. It investigates how museum-display strategies made their way into department stores, exploring the links between settings and experiences to showcase Italian industrial and decorative arts production.Italy at Work was defined by a broad-based agenda under the patronage of the Marshall Plan (officially named the European Recovery Program) and coordinated by the CNA (Compagnia Nazionale Artigiana, or National Artisan Company), a semipublic corporation overseen by the Italian Ministry of Commerce aiming to support the rebirth and development of Italian handicraft products.The CNA—through which official US aid from the Export-Import Bank of the United States was channeled—embraced earlier efforts undertaken by CADMA (Commissione Assistenza e Distribuzione Materiali Artigianato, or Committee for the Assistance and Distribution for Craft Materials), a sister organization to Handicraft Development, Inc. By 1947, CADMA was based at the House of Italian Handicrafts in New York City, at 217 East 49th Street (Coppedé 2008–2009). Between 1947 and 1948, CADMA undertook a series of actions aimed at increasing Italian exports to the United States, developing business contacts, and supporting artisans through technical aid and the improvement of technical skills and work processes.In an article published in 1948, art critic Raffaele Calzini (1885–1953) detailed the role of this organization and its exhibit program at the House of Italian Handicrafts: La prima [mostra] fu una specie di rassegna generale improvvisata nel dopoguerra di quanto presentava il mercato artigiano italiano, la seconda si unificò con la organizzazione italiana dell'A.P.E.M. (Artigianato per esportazione), la terza fu dedicata specialmente a campionari che mettessero gli importatori americani in contatto con il prodotto e col produttore italiano ed ebbe quasi il carattere di un'aristocratica fiera; la quarta si precisò con la esposizione di pezzi unici, molti su disegni di artisti italiani . . . , la quinta corrisponde a un tema molto moderno per gli Americani: l'"outdoor living," la vita all'aperto. (Calzini 1948)(The first [exhibition] was a kind of impromptu survey of what the postwar Italian handicraft market offered, the second merged with the Italian organization APEM (Artigianato per esportazione [standing for Craft Production Exportation Milan]), the third mainly consisted in a repertory of objects that could put American importers in touch with Italian goods and manufacturers and had almost the nature of an aristocratic exhibition; the fourth was marked by the exposition of unique pieces, many of them based on designs by Italian artists . . . , the fifth reflects a very modern topic for Americans: "outdoor living.")2Recognizing an unresolved relationship between arts and crafts (Gamble 2015) and artisanal and industrial productions, the fourth and the fifth exhibitions made an effort to consider crafts in a broader architectural context, to envision items not only with respect to their specific nature but also in terms of their relationships with objects placed nearby and within the specific space in which they were installed.This same spirit was embraced by the organizers of the exhibition Italy at Work in their promotion of handicrafts geared to the modern world and praised for their beauty and novelty. To initiate the selection process, in the spring of 1950, an American committee traveled through Italy aiming to identify major "trends" that could appeal to American purchasers' tastes. The committee's heterogeneous composition attests to the multiple purposes converging in its mission (Teague 1950). Along with museum directors Meyric Reynold Rogers (1893–1972; former director of the City Art Museum of St. Louis and curator of the Department of Decorative and Industrial Arts at the Art Institute of Chicago from 1939 to 1958) and Charles Nagel Jr. (1899–1992; former curator of decorative arts at the Gallery of Fine Arts at Yale and then director of the City Art Museum in St. Louis and finally of the Brooklyn Museum), Ramy Alexander (1901–1973; a Russian-born American craft specialist acting as vice president of the CNA), and architect, industrial designer, and entrepreneur Walter Dorwin Teague (1883–1960) served on this committee. When discussing this selection committee, scholars have never properly emphasized the role played by other staff members, including members' wives. As early as 1950, designer Teague already noted of these women how "they added feminine charm and the feminine viewpoint. Helen Rogers and Lucy Nagel, both of whom have had experience in museum work, did the exacting work of recording for the museums the size and characteristics of all our selections" (Teague 1950, 145). Stereotypical gendered comments aside, the contribution of women to the exhibition's organization and success was more significant than is generally understood. In fact, many women were employed in the venture as members of the preparatory team, in developing the commercial events, or as creators of objects chosen for display. Their roles and professional paths have largely gone unnoticed and undocumented, due to the lack or loss of their personal archives and to the challenge of researching married women who, following social convention, had replaced their maiden surnames with those of their husbands. The impression of an exclusively male enterprise is reinforced by official photography records of the organizers taken during their Italian trip, in which artisans and manufacturers are invariably shown with male curators. Today we know that many of the choices made during the course of preparing the exhibition came from a broader group at various institutional levels rather than individuals. That said, official accounts assigned the event's leadership to its selection committee, perhaps to imbue it with an indisputable seal of authority.Detailing the committee's choices, Italian officials noted that "nello scegliere diversi oggetti, il Comitato di selezione non si è preoccupato solo di criteri estetici e della buona fattura, ma anche della possibilità di vendita sul mercato degli Stati Uniti . . . che richiede prodotti che abbiano una nota di distinzione personale (Lomardo 1950; it was concerned not only with aesthetic criteria and good craftmanship, but also with the possibility of sale on the US market . . . which requires products that have a note of personal distinction). Although the selection purported to encompass the whole gamut of Italian producers, a map published in the exhibition catalog reveals clear geographical preferences in the committee's choices. It is hardly a coincidence that, with a few exceptions, most of the selected objects originated in Lombardy, Veneto, Tuscany, Campania, and Sicily, namely those same pilot regions covered by the United States Technical Assistance and Productivity Program. Initially expected to "be followed by nationwide implementation" (Giorcelli 2019), in the end this program never extended beyond these regions.Without a doubt, the exhibition further entrenched the popularity of famed companies such as Barovier & Toso, Venini, Fontana Arte, Pietro Chiesa, and Salvatore Ferragamo, adding to their international luster. It also gave prominence to lesser-known firms and individuals that succeeded in standing out among countless other makers operating in Italy in the same fields. It may be worth noting that some of those firms—including Guido Gambone and Zaccagnini for pottery, Emilia Paoli for embroidery, and the Tessitura di Rovezzano of Countess Maria Antonietta di Frassineto for fabric—had already appointed the celebrated fashion entrepreneur Giovanni Battista Giorgini (1898–1971) as their agent for American department stores (Faggella 2019). This is but one instance among many that demonstrates the ways in which pre-existing professional networks shaped many choices and how entrepreneurial partnerships and alliances fostered companies' success well beyond the committee's choices. Regarding such relationships as distinctive to Italian production, Giampiero Bosoni (2006) stressed the fact that the history of Italian design had been written by small groups of designers and entrepreneurs who had crossed paths in artisans' workshops, literary salons, small and medium-sized companies, and art galleries.The Italy at Work exhibition placed special emphasis on linking a traditional iconography with a successful image of a modern Italian nation in full economic and industrial recovery. In other words, it showed that the Bel Paese—an expression coined by Italians to celebrate the beauty of their country—was indeed beautiful and that its values applied to its achievements in past art and to products of modern mass consumption. Such values also spoke to the feeling of patriotic nostalgia nurtured by New York City's influential Italian American community, which by 1950 boasted nearly 1.7 million inhabitants and three out of four candidates in mayoral elections.An ingenious dialogue bridging tradition and innovation merged within the museum display of Italy at Work to create two exhibition models.Museums met requested display standards with a taxonomic arrangement. Nearly twenty-five thousand items were lined on tables and shelves according to typological classes—or similar units—of furniture, ceramics, glass, metals, semiprecious stones and mosaics, jewelry, textiles, straw works, toys, and small home appliances such as portable typewriters and home coffee machines. The sheer number of exhibit items became a real challenge for curators. In fact, one observed: "This exhibition turned out to be a difficult one for us to install, because it contained so many objects. However, it is worth doing well, since a great part of its success seems to depend upon the display of these objects" (Wittman 1952).This conventional mode of display was complemented by five full-scale furnished interiors designed by leading Italian architects, consistent with the idea of modern domestic design. Museum professionals deemed such interiors "the most difficult part of the show to assemble" (Wittman 1952). The five "proposals for Italian-style ambiance" (Ponti 1950) included a theater lobby by Fabrizio Clerici (1913–1993), a private chapel by Roberto Menghi (1920–2006), a terrace room for outdoor living by Luigi Cosenza (1905–1984), a living-dining room for a small apartment by Carlo Mollino (1905–1973), and a luxurious dining room by Gio Ponti (1891–1979). In these rooms a greater sense of the objects' qualities within architectural settings could be gleaned in purposely designed spaces that hinted at their ideal arrangement in ready-to-share home interiors.Such display strategies—whose prototypes can be traced to the nineteenth-century Parisian Musée de Cluny and German museum period rooms in the early twentieth century (Costa, Poulot, and Volait 2015)—were by then obsolete in Europe. Nevertheless, they still enjoyed wide popularity in 1950s American museums. Moreover, they were ideal for showcasing domestic objects with their clear association between content and container. Items on display in these contexts could be easily intelligible as they were shown in the kinds of spaces for which they had been designed. Objects' formal and aesthetic qualities were enhanced by their settings in an exhibition display evoking elegant domestic interiors reflecting an "Italian way of life" (Cordera 2023).For this same reason, organizers discouraged museums from introducing traditional showcases or didactic devices typically associated with a traditional museum exhibit space that would interfere with the desired domestic ambiance.To offer plausible interiors to visitors, photographs published in the American press showed museum rooms arranged in a bright domestic atmosphere, or rather, a familiar atmosphere. Widespread images captured the spaces "brought to life" with cheerful children playing nearby some of the full-scale interiors, or with smiling ladies—the spouses of museum curators or high-society members—staged selecting items and placing them in the domestic interiors. In the 1950s, marriage and children were an anchor of the "American dream," so women could be associated with domestic interiors through their assumed ability to arrange rooms tastefully and presumed access to their husbands' wallets to achieve a beautiful home.In fact, these constructed interiors were perfectly aligned to the philosophy of educational entertainment—or "edutainment," then a popular practice within the American museum context. In this framework, it is worth noting that several museums hosting Italy at Work included educational workshops to further engage their visitors. These workshops provided aides who familiarized the public with creative craftmanship techniques and skills in the manufacture of metalworks, fabrics, embroideries, or ceramics. Describing these practices, Ivan Matteo Lombardo (1902–1980)—who was at that time the minister for industry and foreign trade and president of the Milan Triennale, after having served as chief of the Italian delegation to the treaty negotiations with the US in 1947—acknowledged that "i Musei degli Stati Uniti—e particolarmente quelli dell'arte applicata—sono estremamente diversi da quelli europei, sia per l'impostazione della loro attività assai più vicina alla vita pratica moderna ed accessibile alla massa dei cittadini, sia per il grandioso afflusso di visitatori, non ristretto ai soli studiosi e turisti, ma esteso anche a persone di tutti i ceti, compresi quelli commerciali" (Lombardo 1950; museums in the United States—and especially those of applied art—are extremely different from those of Europe, both in the setting of their activity much closer to modern practical life and accessible to the mass of citizens, and in the impressive inflow of visitors, not limited to scholars and tourists, but extended to people of any class, including commercial ones). In other words, he noted the distinctive nature of the American museum as a democratic institution, aimed at general audiences rather than being a mere storehouse of masterpieces for elites. Also, this remark subtly hints at the conflict on Italian soil between modernist and cosmopolitan models and more traditional tastes (Gundle 2000).The "nomadic" nature of Italy at Work was occasionally unkind to the physical integrity of some items, with damage occurring from inadequate packing and handling (Marfella 2015, 41). Some curators recorded repairs, losses, and new fixtures required for objects as the show went from venue to venue during its tour (Rogers 1952). Museums were entitled to replace some items or sell the damaged ones in their gift shops to compensate for such inconveniences. Such a policy, questionable from a museological perspective, testifies to the exhibition's merging of economic and cultural goals. Moreover, it could meet the visitors' demands to own a museum piece, thus implicitly enhancing the value of the exhibition and its artworks.Needless to say, this policy raised criticism among both elite and traditional visitors.Not surprisingly, one of the exhibition's most noticeable outcomes was to stimulate a broader appeal for Italian culture, art, and crafts. In fact, it also triggered department stores and shopping malls to schedule promotional events, thus targeting a wider audience. Archival sources reveal that from the beginning, the exhibition's staging plans embraced department store display strategies. For this purpose, in 1950, Italian representatives of the CNA had traveled to the United States aiming "sfruttare nel miglior modo la intensa propaganda per i prodotti artigiani che deriverà dalle mostre e sviluppare i contatti con i grandi magazzini, i grossisti e gli importatori americani" (Lombardo 1950; to make the best use of the intense propaganda for artisanal products that will result from the exhibitions and to develop contacts with American department stores, wholesalers and importers).Thus, the characters and intentions of cultural, design, and commercial exhibitions overlapped, and those same items displayed in museums were also conveniently offered in department stores. From the words of the minister of foreign trade, one may understand the way this relationship had been well thought out within the content of Italy at Work: "Mentre la Mostra viaggerà di città in città, sarà condotta un'intensa campagna di vendita dall'organismo americano sussidiario della CNA, la House of Italian Handicrafts Inc.-217 East 49th Street, New York, City, e sarà offerta al pubblico la possibilità di comprare oggetti simili o addirittura identici a quelli esposti nella Mostra" (Lombardo 1950; While the exhibition travels from city to city, an intensive sales campaign will be conducted by the American subsidiary of the CNA, the House of Italian Handicrafts Inc.-217 East 49th Street, New York, City, and the public will be offered the opportunity to buy similar or even identical objects to those on display in the exhibition). A massive sales campaign was thus orchestrated by the board of the House of Italian Handicrafts "showing a remarkably timely awareness of the importance of an effective marketing policy specifically directed to the selling of Italian products" (Casciato 2006, 14).Macy's department store in New York City went so far as to reconstruct a simplified domestic interior; it featured furniture designed by Ponti himself and manufactured by cabinetmaker Giordano Chiesa and was decorated by the imaginative designer Piero Fornasetti (1913–1988). In a letter to Fornasetti, John Read Foley, then vice president of R. H. Macy & Co., openly expressed his appreciation for such a creative and highly evocative production: "Truly the silk panels, the wooden panels, and the screens were the exact interpretation of the inspiration I had in my mind after seeing all the wonderful museums and churches in your great country" (Foley 1951).Beyond replicating museum spaces, one of the most unusual and proactive strategies impacting Italian firms was the way visitors to American museums were skillfully nudged to visit department stores. During the hours the museums were open, Italian sales representatives were on hand, trained to answer visitors' queries about specific objects, to extol their handcrafted qualities, and to direct them to participating American retailers (Agreement concerning 1950). The spectacle of the merchandise must have astonished the Italian agents, who were largely unfamiliar with the postwar American-style shopping experience (and related advertising campaigns), as yet largely unknown in Italy. In this respect, Italy's best-known department store, La Rinascente in Milan, was the pioneering exception that gave, as Elena Papadia (2005) has noted, a formidable impulse to the growth of consumption under the banner of the democratization of luxury and modern lifestyles. Its role as an innovative tastemaker was confirmed in 1954 when the Milan flagship store established the Compasso d'oro design award.In the US, a vigorous advertising campaign resulted in a number of "extra-ordinary" commercial events, flourishing out of the "ordinary" museum context. By way of example, in 1952, the import company Bonnier (605 Madison Avenue, New York) hosted a show devoted to "true" Italian crafts: "Items in the Bonnier show . . . were not apparently styled specifically for export to this country and they seem to be even more expressive of the naturally colorful, unrestrained and baroque design qualities inherent in the crafts of Italy" (Pepis 1952). That same year, high-end furniture maker Singer & Sons recruited prominent architects Carlo De Carli (1910–1990), Ponti, Carlo Mollino, and Ico Parisi (1916–1996) to develop modern design pieces for the US market (Casali 2020). And in December 1952, architect and designer Roberto Mango dedicated an entire issue of Interiors magazine to Italian design (Mango 1952). As for small home appliances such as portable typewriters, it is worth mentioning that in the same year, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City held a monographic exhibition devoted to the work of the Olivetti company, whose achievements in product design, advertising, and architectural patronage had been praised by W. D. Teague as a model for US companies. In 1953, several Olivetti products entered MoMA's fledgling design collection, conferring cultural legitimacy onto its commercial enterprise. In 1954, Olivetti opened the doors of its new celebrated showroom a few blocks away on Fifth Avenue (Carter 2018). These few examples attest to the growing appeal of Italian modern design and the efforts for promoting it in the United States.In newspapers the colorful and folkloric qualities of traditional Italian crafts were celebrated alongside the smooth modernity of contemporary Italian design. In 1952, for example, articles were published that featured both a Sicilian painted wooden cart and a Lambretta motor scooter that were part of a car parade in Saint Louis, Missouri, promoting Italian fashion. The disconnect was not without its critics. As Elena Dellapiana (2018, 30) noted: "All of this represented the folkloristic image that Ponti and his group hated and fought against in every possible occasion, claiming the separation between cultural tradition and naiveté, even if this image was one of the major thrusts to commercial success."Sales of Italian goods increased following a series of marketing actions undertaken by multidisciplinary teams merging the needs of the Italy at Work exhibition's organizers together with those of department stores and CNA representatives. Successes resulting from commercial events were further reinforced in the press through widespread advertisement of Italian products by such stores as Lord & Taylor and Abraham & Straus (Brooklyn) in New York; Marshall Field's in Chicago; McCurdy's in Rochester, New York; Jackson's Furniture in Oakland, California; and Meier & Frank in Portland, Oregon.In the same vein, Boyd's and the Famous-Barr Co. (then a division of Macy's) department stores staged competing events showcasing their Italian products while the Italy at Work exhibition was presented in Saint Louis, Missouri. In advertising its "Modern Italy Creates!" retail show, Famous-Barr recommended that its patrons visit the concurrent exhibition at the City Art Museum: a classic example of cross-marketing. Similarly, in inviting shoppers to its own display, the H. Chambers Company of Baltimore, Maryland—noted for its furniture and interior design—recommended a visit to the museum to complete the visitor experience.Such associations of cultural experiences in museums with shopping experiences in department stores were undoubtedly driven by economic interests. By establishing an emotional connection between goods and clients, they gave cultural legitimacy to business interests in a country where designers and architects were often involved in staging both department store and museum displays (Orr 2019). The phenomenon was neither impulsive nor random; rather, it was the product of a conscious orchestration aimed at triggering a positive consumer experience by linking the perceived legitimacy of museum display to the commercial realm of the retail store.Among prominent companies, Macy's fostered the most significant promotional effort, thanks to its strong network throughout the American nation. In fact, it displayed the "largest selection of consumer products from Italy offered in a single merchandising effort in this country" (New York Times 1951).The Italian government fully endorsed these efforts, teaming up for eighteen months with Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) and Macy's representatives with the objective of merging Italian taste with "American appeal." Through that collaboration, a reference selection of reliable Italian craftsmen and producers was established, from which US department stores could make their choices (Merlo and Polese 2006, 445). Italy's store La Rinascente also collaborated with Macy's in organizing the New York show (Amerian 2015).In recognition of the contribution of Macy's to the promotion of Italian products, the president of the Italian Republic bestowed the Ordine della Stella della Solidarietà Italiana (Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity) on Jack Straus, then president of R. H. Macy & Co., Inc., and Leo Martinuzzi, a Macy's import executive (New York Times 1952).In addition, a two-week sales calendar was established as part of the "Italy-in-Macy's, USA" marketing blitz: begun in New York, it subsequently extended to Macy's branches in Newark, New Jersey; Atlanta, Georgia; Toledo, Ohio; Kansas City, Kansas; and San Francisco, California. A series of events at more than twenty Macy's-affiliated stores across the country also included Bamberger's in Newark; Davison's in Atlanta; LaSalle's in Toledo; May Company in Los Angeles, Denver, Cleveland, and Baltimore; Meier & Frank in Portland; Hecht Company in Washington, DC; and G. Fox & Co. in Hartford, Connecticut (New York Times 1951).The Macy's Italian fair brought Italian products before an audience wider than any other commercial show. In New York City, commercial events reached an impressive scale. Daily news reports and promotional tools attest to both Macy's effort and its success in forging a competitive advantage over its retail rivals. They show that beyond promoting Italian products, Macy's set out to craft a unique and exciting visitor experience through its many displays and events that temporarily transformed its flagship store at Herald Square into the Italianized "Piazza Araldo."Consistent with the celebration of Italian artisanal skill as described in the Italy at Work exhibition handbook (Rogers 1950), Macy's hosted a rich program of unique workshops and events, including demonstrations by Italian artisans and craftsmen keen to show off their professional prowess: "Four Italian craftsmen practiced their skills on small stages: Giovanni De Metz carved small figures in wood, Fosco Martini fashioned ceramic pieces, Guglielmo Brussa showed off the delicate art of a glassblower, and Renato Casiani produced designs in leather" (Mango 1951). Obviously, a true Italian experience could not be worthy of the name without artisanal products, and Macy's offered wines, salami, and cheeses to add gastronomical delight to the experience. At the same time, newspapers vied with one another to print traditional Italian recipes adapted for the American home cook.Crowds gathering at Macy's entrance first encountered a Venetian garden—complete with a thirty-six-foot gondola manufactured for the purpose by true Venetian squeri (gondola makers)—then ascended to the fifth floor of the building, which had been totally remodeled to provide customers with an authentic, immersive experience of Italian culture. Traditional Italian costumes replaced the staff members' standard uniforms, helping to bring the experience to life. Staff were tasked with describing various goods to potential buyers. Leather belts, gloves,